The Disappearance of Sheldon's Spot
by notjaneausten
Summary: AU - It's been a long time since the gang last saw Sheldon and Amy is feeling his absence now more than ever. What if there had been lasting consequences from that Valentine's dinner, will the gang be there for her when she needs them most? Shamy fic. Disclaimer: All characters remain the property of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady...I just want to join in the fun...
1. Chapter 1

It had been two months, three weeks and four days since anyone in Pasadena had seen Doctor Sheldon Cooper in person. He'd Skyped them all to say that he'd arrived safely in Galveston, but that was just a brief chat during their Friday night classic video game, and all he'd really said was that he would be staying with his Meemaw for a little while. He continued to text Amy every day for the first few weeks, but that dwindled to every other day, then once a week; until the contact stopped altogether.

Amy tried her best to be supportive of her boyfriend at first; she knew how overwhelmed he would be with everything that had happened over the past six months and finally he decided that it was all just too much to deal with and he had to get away for an 'emotional re-boot' as he liked to call it. She just hadn't thought that he would have stayed away for so long; the gang had tried their best to keep her spirits up but after a while she eventually started to withdraw from them too, feeling that without Sheldon at her side, she no longer fit in anywhere.

For the last month she had been incredibly busy at Caltech finishing off the latest of her addiction studies and preparing to submit the final results to the board. She'd started missing lunch dates with the guys and they fully understood her commitment and though nothing of it; they'd all had deadlines of their own to meet and just brushed it off as one of those things. Then she started to skip out on Monday night Thai, Tuesdays at The Cheesecake Factory and even Pizza night with the girls; the fact that she also missed Chinese on a Friday on the last four occasions hadn't registered because they all knew that Amy wasn't a big fan of playing video games in the first place. But eventually even Penny finally clued in on the fact that no one had seen Amy outside of her workplace for at least five weeks; the gal from Nebraska collared Bernadette outside the hallway one Wednesday evening and pulled her inside her apartment to have a little 'girl-time'. The guys had been travelling over to Comic Book Central on the other side of town for new comic night, and Bernadette had just dropped Howard off with Leonard.

"What's going on with Amy?" Penny demanded as Bernadette made herself comfortable on her aqua coloured couch.

"Sorry?" Bernadette looked up, puzzled at Penny's harsh tone. "I thought you and Leonard were looking after her while Sheldon's away? Isn't she your best friend?"

"Well, yeah…" Penny hung her head a little sheepishly as she admitted that she was probably not the world's greatest of best friends. "It's just that with all the excitement of getting engaged, it kinda only dawned on me tonight that Amy's skipped nearly five weeks of meeting up with any of us. Leonard said that he's only seen her briefly in the lab or passing down the corridor and she's always seemed to be in a big hurry; she hasn't had lunch with them for weeks."

"She turned down spending the weekend with us as well, we thought it might be nice to have Sunday lunch over with Debbie and Stuart; but she said she was too busy. I can't believe it's been five weeks though…"

"Believe it sister, I'm going over to Amy's now to find out what's going on in that busy little brain of hers. You coming along for the ride?" Penny grabbed her purse and waited for Bernadette to let Howard know where they were going.

"Howie, Penny and I are heading over to Amy's for a chat. I'm leaving you with the car, try not to make too much of a mess inside it this time, please?"

"Okay, jeez one little spilled drink and you'd think it was the end of the world." Howard muttered to Raj as Bernadette slipped past him to leave the apartment.

"It was a milkshake ya putz, and in case you didn't know – milk sours! It would've been fine if you had admitted it sooner, but no you just had to leave it a week to tell me…"

"Sorry ma…my Bernadette." Howard apologised again, nearly slipping up and calling Bernadette 'Ma', a habit he was trying to break – if only she didn't sound so freakishly like his Ma whenever she got angry…

"Come on, Bernie – let's leave the boys to their toys." Penny grabbed Bernie's arm and pulled her out of the apartment before World War III erupted. They hopped into Penny's car and drove over to Glendale to try and find out what Amy was up to.

The pounding on her front door woke Amy from the restless nap that she'd fallen into when she arrived home from the lab. She peered at the clock on the wall and saw that she'd been napping for nearly three hours and had managed to skip dinner again; making it the third time that week that she'd missed her evening meal. She wearily trudged to the front door and peered through her spy hole to see Penny and Bernadette waiting to be let in.

"Hey bestie, what brings you over to the dark side of town?" Amy asked tiredly as she pulled the door open to let her friend's enter her apartment.

"Well, if Mohammad won't come to the mountain…and all that. What's up, Ames? You don't look too good…" Penny kissed Amy's cheek as she walked through and frowned as she saw how pale and wrung out her friend was looking. Her skirt was a wrinkled mess and her normally tight fitting plaid blouse hung loosely on her almost skeletal looking frame.

"I've just been super busy trying to get the last of my reports finished and submitted on time; it was quite a push but it's over now thank goodness. I guess I'm just feeling a little run down, under the weather so to speak. President Siebert has granted me a week's absence before my new project is due to start so hopefully I can catch up on some lost sleep." Amy sank wearily down onto her beige couch and let her head flop back against the cushions.

"You look like you could do with catching up on some good square meals too," Bernadette said frankly as she checked over Amy's pallor, noting the dark shadows under her eyes and how her bones showed through her skin around her wrists.

"I've been so tired these last few weeks, that all I've wanted to do is hit my bed as soon as I've got in. The last couple of nights I've even fallen asleep on the couch…I just need a couple of days to get myself together and I'll be right as rain again." Amy murmured as she heard Bernadette rustling around in the kitchen, looking for something to tempt her with.

"Why don't you come over and spend a couple of nights at the apartment with Leonard and I? We've really missed you, Ames and Leonard was only saying the other night how much he enjoyed that chicken casserole you made last month."

"Yeah, all of us could do with a break from the takeout menu's. How long did it take you all to realise that Leonard has been keeping everything to Sheldon's exact schedule? I mean, four take out's a week is hardly a well-balanced diet; even if you do have a salad on the side." Bernadette called over from the kitchenette as she waited for the kettle to boil. "Tea or cocoa, Amy? What about you, Penny?"

"It's only June, so it's not going to be Cocoa…" Penny called out, referring to Sheldon's whimsical habit of only drinking cocoa in months containing an 'r'. Amy managed a brief smile, but Penny immediately felt guilty for bringing up a sensitive subject, and vowed to try and keep references to Sheldon out of their conversations.

"Chamomile, please." Amy requested and Bernadette soon carried a small tray over to set on Amy's small coffee table.

"Here you go, and I've added some honey as I know that's how you prefer it. There's a bagel there as well, I want to see you eat every bite or I'll call Howard's Mother and have her send you over some brisket." Bernadette handed Amy a mug of tea and threatened her with a fate worse than death…Mrs. Wolowitz's brisket had brought many a man to his knees and it was nothing to scoff at. Amy paled at the thought and took a careful sip of the warm tea.

"Urghhhh…" As soon as the tea hit her taste buds she felt an overwhelming wave of nausea hit the back of her throat and felt lightheaded.

"Bernie, grab the mug…I think we have a hurler on our hands!" Penny warned and Bernadette managed to grab the mug at the same time as Penny lunged forward to prevent Amy from toppling off the couch. She helped Amy rise to her feet and supported her weight as the other woman staggered into her small bathroom where she immediately proceeded to vomit profusely into the toilet bowl. Penny held Amy's hair back, and tried hard not to gag herself; she had always had a sympathetic gag reflex and know she knew exactly how Leonard felt all the times he'd done the same thing for her.

"Okay, get it all out of your system…" Penny averted her gaze as she gingerly rubbed Amy's back in small circles. "Bernie, gonna need a little help in here!" She yelled out through the open doorway as she began to feel a little lightheaded herself.

"Let me take a look. Go sit yourself down Penny, before I have two puking besties on my hands." Bernadette gently nudged Penny out of the way before she took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. She reached over to run a washcloth under the tap and placed it on the back of Amy's neck.

"Mmm…nice…not near the door…tell Penny." Amy murmured as she rested her head on the edge of the toilet bowl as Bernadette fastened her hair out of the way with a hair clip.

"What was that, honey?" Bernadette leant in a little closer, not able to make any sense out of Amy's ramblings.

"The couch, the spot nearest the door is Cuddle's spot."

"Okay. I get it now. Do you want to rinse your mouth out a little?" Bernadette offered Amy a cup of mouthwash, which she accepted gratefully.

"Think I'm just gonna sit here a little while…and take a little nap…" Amy sat on the floor with her back against the edge of the bath with her eyes closed tightly. "Just until the world stops spinning around…" Bernadette left Amy in the bathroom and walked quickly back into the living room, to see Penny perched on the arm of the couch talking to Leonard on the phone.

"Okay…I love you, too…see you in a while…"

"Don't hang up yet, Penny. Tell them we need them all over here pronto; and to bring separate cars. We need to take Amy to the Emergency room to get her checked out. I think I know what the matter is but I need them to confirm it for me." Bernadette reached over to stop Penny from disconnecting the call and from the sound of things, Leonard had heard every word and was telling the guys to pack away their books and get over to Glendale on the double. Penny hung up and turned to Bernadette.

"Bernie, you're scaring the living crap outta me. You've got to fill in the blanks a little for me here, no college degree remember?"

"You don't need a college degree to be able to work this one out. Do you remember Amy synching all of our phone calendars when she dubbed us the 'Three Menstruteers'?" Bernadette flipped open her phone to reveal the grumpy face icon, indicating her menstrual cycle was in full spin. Penny grimaced as she flipped her phone open to reveal the same icon.

"Yeah, so we finally synched up, what does that happen to do with anything?"

"No wrappers in the bin, and I know Sheldon made her take him over to that warehouse place and persuaded her to buy a whole ton of tampons. There's a huge pile next to the bathtub, but no wrappers."

"Holy crap on a cracker!" Penny exclaimed as she leapt up from the couch to pace around the small confines of the living room. "She suddenly hates the taste of honey in her tea…she's falling asleep on the couch…Oh My God! Sheldon finally manned up…we're gonna have a baby!"

"What!" Leonard let himself into the apartment just to hear Penny announce that they were going to be parent's and felt himself go a little wobbly.

"Steady there, physics boy. Not 'we' as in you and me; but 'we' as in all of us. Amy's pregnant." Penny caught Leonard just as he was about to topple over and reassured him that she was definitely not carrying a little Hofstadter inside her womb.

"Oh My God! A Shamy baby!" Raj squealed as he clapped his hands together in delight, his excitement dwindled as he realised that Amy was nowhere to be seen. "Where's the baby mama now?"  
>"She's resting in the bathroom after spending the last ten minutes puking her guts up. Now, where's Howie? There's a lot to do, and I want to get Amy checked out as soon as possible."<p>

"Here I am my little cupcake, now where's the fire?" Howard strolled into the apartment and saw everyone standing around with a combination of worry (Bernadette), shock (Leonard), surprise and delight (Raj) and back to worry again with Penny.

"No fire, Howie just a very sick little Amy. Now, I want you and Raj to begin packing everything up and start loading the cars. Penny, I want you to pack an overnight bag for Amy and help me get her on her feet. Leonard, you are going to call Mary Cooper and see if she knows what hole Sheldon is currently hiding himself in. Don't tell her why you're asking, say that it's just university business or some such crap. Well, what are you all waiting for? Let's move, people!" Bernadette glared at everyone until they were all rushing around, preparing to bend to her will. Leonard headed out into the hallway to make the call to Mary as everyone else started to pack up the apartment.

"Hey, Mrs. Cooper. It's Leonard here, I was..uh, just wondering whether you knew how I could get hold of Sheldon these days?"

_"I'm sorry sugar, but I really don't have a clue. We haven't seen him in almost a month, he spent a few weeks staying over at his Meemaw's and then just up and left in the middle of the night. Is everything okay?"_

"Yeah, just some stuff that I need to speak to him about…" Leonard said carefully, but something in his voice told Mary that he wasn't telling her the whole truth.

_"Don't lie to me, Leonard. I've raised three children of my own, so I can tell when someone's not being straight with me. Now, I'll ask you again, what's going on?"_

"Amy's sick…and we just thought Sheldon ought to know…even though he probably doesn't give a damn considering how he hasn't had any contact with her in the last month or so."

_"Language, Leonard." _

"Sorry, Mrs. Cooper. We're just real worried about her and thought Sheldon should hear it from us, rather than someone else. You really don't have any idea where he might have headed?"

_"Sorry sugar, I don't. It nearly broke his poor Meemaw's heart when he snuck out like a thief in the night, so I can only imagine how poor Amy must be feeling. Can you tell me what exactly is wrong with the poor girl?"_

"Not for sure, we're waiting for some test results to come back. Listen, if you see or hear anything from Sheldon will you let me know?" Leonard was desperate to get off the phone, certain that Mary Cooper was just as smart as her son when it came to manipulating people into revealing hidden information.

_"That I will, Leonard. Give Amy my love and tell her Mother I said hello."_

"Amy's Mother moved to Europe last year, but I'm sure she'd appreciate the sentiment."

_"The poor dear! Have you called her to let her know what's going on?" _

"No, Amy and her Mother aren't very close and haven't been for some time. They exchange letters occasionally but I don't think they've actually spoken for some time now, I know Amy was pretty upset when her Mother forgot her birthday."

_"Oh, I see. Well you keep me informed when you can, and I'll do the same. Speak to you soon, Leonard."_

"Yeah, goodbye Mrs. Cooper." Leonard disconnected the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket as he saw Penny helping Amy through the apartment. He immediately saw that Amy was even frailer than he had previously thought and ran over to lend a hand by wrapping his arm securely around Amy's waist to take her body weight.

"We'd better take my car so that she can stretch out along the backseat. Ready, Bernie?" Leonard asked as he gently steered Amy out of the apartment and toward the elevator; closely followed by Penny and Bernadette.

"Did you manage to make that call?" Penny whispered as Bernadette helped Amy to get comfortable in the back seat of Leonard's car.

"Yeah, she's got no idea; apparently he left Texas more than a month ago. They've not heard a thing from him either." Leonard whispered back as he checked his mirrors before pulling out into the late evening traffic. Penny hid her concern as she looked over her shoulder at the sight of Amy stretched out across Bernadette's lap; she shook her head at Bernadette's raised eyebrows and heard a gentle sigh coming from the deceptively delicate looking woman, as she gently stroked the hair away from Amy's brow. Amy remained silent for the whole journey, and left the checking in process entirely up to Bernadette when they reached the Emergency Room. It was only when she started suddenly vomiting again without warning that the attending physician moved her up in the triage line and whipped her straight into a cubicle for examination.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that's been kind enough to leave me a review so far. Just to clarify a few points: **

**This is definitely going to be a Shamy fic, although Sheldon has yet to make his reappearance; and of course he is the father! ****Amy has been under a lot of stress and has been in denial about what is happening to her body, some women don't get morning sickness and others do; it all depends on hormone levels…but we're going to deal with all of that in a little while**

Bernadette cornered Doctor Jeffries as he stepped out of Amy's cubicle after giving her an examination; he was talking with the nurse about ordering up a full panel of tests and Bernadette drew him to one side to fill him in on her earlier hypothesis.

"Mmm…you say she hasn't had a cycle in four months? Some women don't show any obvious signs of pregnancy and there are some cases where they experience little or no nausea at all…In Ms. Fowler's case I am a little concerned that her sickness has developed after the first trimester – that's usually when the early symptoms of pregnancy start to wear off, not start up. We call prolonged morning sickness Hyperemesis Gravidarum, but I'm ordering a full chem. Panel just to be on the safe side. I'm also going to have her admitted onto the obstetrics ward overnight, just as a precaution; they'll move her up as soon as a bed becomes available."

"She's been under a fair amount of stress over the last few months; her boyfriend left the area and she's been working hard to finish up one of her trials over at CalTech…and you may want note on your records that it's Doctor Fowler and not Ms." Bernadette tapped the edge of Amy's chart and Doctor Jeffries made a quick notation of her status. "I'm just worried that she's losing weight rather than putting any on, she remarked earlier that she falls asleep almost as soon as she gets home; could you maybe get her iron levels tested at the same time as her hormone levels?"

"Sure, I can do that…Mrs…?" The doctor raised his eyebrows in question and smiled a little as Bernadette puffed her chest out a little.

"Doctor Rostenkowski-Wolowitz…I'm a biochemist, though not an MD. I'm just worried about Amy and how her stress levels could affect the baby…"

"I'm sure you are, she's lucky to have such loyal friends as you all seem to be. I'll send the nurse in to draw some bloods and set her up on a drip to control the nausea and to replace the lost fluids." Doctor Jeffries left the nurse to draw up the samples and Bernadette told Amy to keep looking at her all the time.

"Amy, honey?" Bernadette leant over the edge of the bed and brushed Amy's fine hair out of her eyes. "Do you need anything? Do you want me to call your Mother for you?" Bernadette's eyes filled with tears as Amy merely turned her head away and was struggling to hold back her tears. "Okay, we'll leave it for now. I don't want you to worry about a thing, do you hear me? We're all in this together, and we're going to take care of you and anyone else that happens to come along."

"How could I have been so stupid? I've ignored all of the signs, thinking it was just stress…I mean, until last year I was never particularly regular anyway; I just thought that it was my body reverting back to how it was before." Amy's hoarse whisper had Bernadette running around to the other side of the bed, her slight stature making it impossible to stretch over the width of the bed. "One time, Bernadette, that's all it took…and I still managed to get knocked up by Sheldon's super sperm…I'm such an idiot, I just kept pushing him into something he wasn't ready for…and now I'm paying the price. I guess Karma really is a bitch." Amy curled her legs up toward her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible on the narrow hospital bed. Bernadette climbed up onto the bed next to her and wrapped her arms around Amy's slender frame that was shaking with the combination of shock and terror.

"Honey, some women are just resistant to the pill…it seems like you're one of the unlucky ones. It was that weekend in Napa wasn't it? I knew something was different between you; Sheldon just seemed more relaxed and comfortable around you since then and I thought everything was going fine."

"Yeah, I guess we were both fooled by that one." Amy said miserably, feeling the hot sting of tears pricking behind her eyes. "I'm a little tired, I think I'm going to try and get a little rest now; you don't have to stay, I'll be fine on my own." Instead of leaving her, Bernadette just curled herself around Amy's back and stroked her hair gently.

"Don't cry, Amy. I have no intention of leaving your side; Penny and Leonard are waiting just outside and I've got Howie and Raj packing your things up from that lonely old apartment of yours as we speak. I told you, you're not going to be alone in this; we're all right here for you. Ssh, it's okay – you just let it all out if you have too…Bernie's gonna be right here."

"Don't forget me," came a soft voice from the curtain, and Penny peeped through as she saw her two best friends curled up around each other on the bed. She pulled a chair closer to the edge of the bed and reached over to take Amy's hand. "We're gonna be the best Auntie's in the whole universe. Sure, in an ideal world, it would be Doctor Whack-a-doodle holding your hand right now, but you don't ever have to think that you're gonna be a single Mom; cause as far as I see – this baby is gonna belong to all of us in a way. I love you, Amy and I'm there for you the whole way; heck, I'll even volunteer for dirty diaper duty, all you gotta do is call."

"I've got a better idea." Leonard stated quietly as he entered the cubicle area and gently rubbed Amy's foot to get her attention. "Amy, I want you to move into our place…if you don't want to have Sheldon's room then we'll swap over, but I really want us to be part of your life again. We'll keep Penny's apartment as well, and maybe every couple of weekends Bernie and Howard can  
>stay over; or Raj, or even Stuart…we want to be your family, Amy." Penny dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and blew her fiancé a kiss, who knew that one nerdy guy could have a heart as big as a mountain? Here they were, a newly engaged couple, and here he was opening up their home to his roommate's pregnant girlfriend.<p>

"I love you, Leonard." Penny whispered and he looked over to see her crying into a tissue. "You've managed to say what everyone else was thinking…"

"Hey! Who thought of packing up Amy's things in the first place?" Bernadette frowned as she continued to rub Amy's back in comforting circles. "I mean, I didn't get as far as thinking where we were going to move her; I was thinking over with Debbie and Stuart to start with, but why don't we ask Amy what she wants to do, instead of planning her whole life for her?"

"I think that's gonna have to wait until later, the poor kid's out for the count." Leonard lowered his voice as they all realised that Amy had fallen into a light doze as they were discussing where and who she should live with. "Let's leave her in peace for a little while, I think I heard Raj and Howard out in the waiting area."

"Excuse me, but I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the cubicle area now." The nurse from earlier drew back the curtain a little to see the little group crowded around her patient's bed. "One of you can stay behind, but we're going to be moving Ms. Fowler up to the obstetrics ward for observation in a little while."

"Doctor Fowler." Bernadette, Leonard and Penny chanted in unison as they corrected the nurse.

"So, the tests showed that she is definitely carrying a mini Sheldon in there." Bernadette stated and the nurse looked up from the chart to see Bernadette reading the results over her shoulder. "And no anaemia, which is a good thing."

"Yes, we're going to keep her in overnight to build her fluids back up. The doctor will explain it all when he comes in shortly, but I really do need to get her ready for the transfer now." The nurse gently nudged them around the curtain and closed them shut with a little whoosh. Bernadette and Penny stared at each other in a silent battle of wills to see who would get to go up to the ward with Amy, and it was Penny that finally backed down.

"Fine! You can stay behind…but I get first cuddle privilege once the baby's here." Penny grumbled a little as they left the nurse preparing Amy for the transfer and stepped out into the waiting area where Raj and Howard were slumped in the hard, plastic chairs waiting for news.

"What's the verdict, doc? Do we have a Shamy baby on the way or what?" Howard rose up from the chair and looked over at Bernadette in query.

"We do have a baby in the making, but Amy's pretty sick at the moment so they're admitting her for the night while they try and get her nausea under control. They're going to be taking her up to the observation ward, and only one of us can stay with her."

"Ooh, me!" Raj waved his hand in the air and was shot down in flames when Bernie gave him a mocking little laugh.

"Hah! That's what you think, I'm staying with Amy tonight and I don't wanna hear another word about it. Howard, you and Raj need to drive over to Los Robles and start unpacking Amy's things; she's gonna be moving into Sheldon's apartment and we're all going to take turns either staying with her there or over at Penny's. We're going to be one big family and we need to give her all the support we can, whether it's financial or just acting as a shoulder to cry on..."

"I'm going to speak to Amy's building manager in the morning, she might have to forfeit a little in her deposit for leaving on short notice." Leonard announced and he shrugged. "I'm prepared to make up any shortfall so that she's not out of pocket. The money she saves on rent can go into a baby fund or something…maybe the kid will turn out to be a smartass just like his Dad and we'll have college and university fees to fund."

"I'm going online now to open up a new bank account for the baby!" Raj announced and started scrolling through his phone, looking for the best interest rates. "I know that Amy's mother will probably not take the news well, especially with Sheldon out of the picture…I'm going to transfer some money over straight away."

"Text me the details, and I'll do the same." Howard immediately stated as he flipped his phone open; he then looked over at Bernadette as he realised once again, he'd committed himself to spending money out of their joint account without checking with her first. It had taken nearly a month of grovelling to get his name back on the account after he had foolishly agreed to split the costs of a 3D printer with Raj; just so that he could make his own little action hero's. This time, however, Bernadette pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

"That's fine, Howie. I was going to suggest that anyway, but you got there first." Penny nervously cleared her throat and felt a little uncomfortable with what she was about to say.

"Guys, you know that I don't have a lot of spare cash at the moment so I can't contribute anything financially. But I can drive Amy to any of her appointments and I'd love to be her labour coach, if she agrees that is. You know I love that girl as if she were my own sister." Penny felt a few tears escape to roll down her cheeks. "Look, we're even sharing the same damn hormones!" She sniffed as she tried to laugh off her tears and snuggled against Leonard's side as he hugged her close to him.

"I guess we're all feeling a little emotional right now, Amy especially." Leonard looked over at the closed curtain area and then back at the others. "Look, it's getting late and none of us have eaten. Why don't Penny and I follow you guys back to the apartment and we can start unloading. We'll stay over at Penny's and you and Raj can fight over who sleeps on Penny's couch and who gets my room. I think we can all agree that Sheldon's room and our couch are both off limits, at least until Amy has made her mind up over where she wants to sleep."

"Bernie, is that okay with you?" Howard looked over at his wife, who was nestled under his arm.

"Sure, Howie. Go ahead, I was either going to suggest that or your Mother's; I think she'd like to be told of the situation, especially if Stuart's going to be part of the group again. You know how much he thinks of Amy…" Bernadette looked over and saw Doctor Jeffries approaching Amy's cubicle. "You guys head home and leave me with Amy, I'll give someone a call in the morning as soon as I know anything. Sweet dreams, Howie." Bernadette kissed her husband quickly on the cheek and then disappeared behind the curtain after Doctor Jeffries.

"Wow, for someone who has made it clear that she doesn't want kids anytime soon; she's really getting involved with Amy's little package."

"Dude…that's good though, right? If she's showing an interest now and it doesn't freak her out entirely, then that shows that at least she hasn't ruled out the possibility of a horde of little Howard's running around in the near future." Raj patted Howard on the shoulder and started leading him down the corridor. "Not to change the subject completely but what do you think of the name 'Astrid' if it's a girl? Or maybe 'Andromeda'?"

"I was thinking something like Caroline, you know how much Amy loves Neil Diamond…" Howard replied as they headed out of the main entrance, still discussing baby names along the way. Leonard just looked at Penny, and she shrugged.

"Don't tell me you haven't been sitting there thinking about it, too…"

"Yeah, but at least I was thinking of something sensible…like Marie after Marie Curie, or Thomas after Thomas Edison…"

"Leonard…shut up. It's not even our baby, and it's a long way off yet. Let's at least get Amy moved in before we start talking baby names." Penny nudged Leonard to follow Howard and Raj out into the car park and they pulled out behind them, tail lights shining in the dark of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Amy woke up a few hours later to near silence and to the glow of monitors all around her. She shifted on the narrow bed and bit back a groan as she felt a wave of nausea threatening the back of her throat.

"Amy? Is everything okay? Do you need me to call the nurse in?" Bernadette rose up from where she had been sitting quietly reading next to the bed.

"Ugghhh….!" Amy gagged and Bernadette quickly shoved a disposable pan into position as Amy retched and coughed. Bernadette pressed the buzzer on the wall and rubbed Amy's back as she waited for the nurse to arrive. When she did come into the ward, she was followed by the obstetrician who was making his last rounds after a particularly difficult delivery.

"Doctor Fowler, my name is Doctor Michael Beckett…I understand that this is your first pregnancy but until now you've had no difficulties?" Doctor Beckett scanned Amy's charts before stepping up to the side of the bed and hovered his hand over her abdomen. "May I?" He requested permission to roll up Amy's gown so that he could gently palpitate her abdomen. "Any pain or tenderness at all? What about here…or here?"

"No, nothing…uh-oh…" Amy rolled to one side and Bernadette was there with the bowl once again. "I thought this thing was supposed to be called 'morning sickness' not every time you move sickness, I'm into my second trimester, all of this should have been over with by now."

"Well I've scanned over your test results and they are all within normal parameters. Your hGC levels are still elevated which would explain the continuing nausea. In most pregnancies the hGC levels double every 48-72 hours until they reach their peak between 8 and 11 weeks before they tail off…this is when most women's sickness starts to recede. Your hCG levels are in the region of 288,000 mIU/ml which is consistent for a woman entering into her second month of pregnancy and not her fourth… As you are certain of your conception date we can rule out any miscalculations there; the other reason could be that you have conceived more than one child…are there any multiple birth's on either side?"

"Sheldon – the baby's father is a twin…and my Grandmother was a twin also. I can't have more than one baby, Bernadette! How am I going to cope with two when I couldn't even face up to the fact that I was even pregnant with one?" Amy burst into tears at the thought that she might be carrying not one, but two little Sheldon's and Bernadette was quick to reassure her.

"Amy, calm down. The doctor said that it was just one of the possible reasons that you're feeling so out of whack…do you hear me? Possible, not certain, just possible."

"Doctor Fowler, please don't upset yourself…you need to try and remain calm and focused. Concentrate on breathing slowly and evenly, look at me…" Doctor Bennett leant over the edge of the bed and grasped Amy's hand firmly. "That's it, keep looking into my eyes and breathe in…and then out…that's it, good girl. Now, I was going to schedule an ultrasound for first thing in the morning, but how about I just wheel a portable over hear now and we take a peek at what's going on in there?" Doctor Bennett took a look at the nurse over his shoulder to address the nurse.

"Nancy, if I promise to drop a hint to that gorgeous husband of yours that you've been itching to take that vacation to Hawaii next spring…and that your boss has already agreed the time off…could you be a darling and bring me over the portable?"

"As you've asked me so nicely, I think that can be arranged…although enough of the 'gorgeous' talk, Doctor Bennett; you're beginning to make me think I need to keep an eye on my hubby!" Nancy winked over at the Doctor playfully and he clasped a hand over his heart dramatically.

"Yeah well, if he had met me first, it might be me taking that vacation in the sun. Some girls just have all the luck…" His blue eyes sparkled as Nancy wheeled over the monitor and gently rolled up Amy's gown to bare her stomach. "Now then, Amy this is gonna feel a little chilly…" Doctor Bennett warned as he squirted the cold gel over her abdomen and Amy flinched a little at the contact. "Told ya…" He grinned, and leant over to switch the machine on. He rolled the transducer paddle over Amy's stomach in a gentle glide and fiddled with the dials until a fast whooshing noise came out of the speakers.

"Is that…?" Amy couldn't speak, her entire focus being on the tiny image on the screen. Her hand reached out blindly to capture Bernadette's hand and both women were crying as the image became clearer.

"That's your baby, Amy. He's about 10 cm long and although he's a bit on the small size, everything looks good…and there's only the one baby." Doctor Bennett stopped moving the transducer so that Amy could have a clear view of the screen; he looked over his shoulder at Nancy who pressed a few buttons on the side of the portable device. "Nancy's going to print you off a picture for you to keep."

"Is there any chance of getting a couple more copies?" Amy asked, her gaze focused on the screen of the monitor. "Look, Bernie...he has little hands and everything! That's my baby..." She pressed a finger to her lips and lightly touched the screen. "Hello there you, I can't wait to meet you, I'm sorry I tried to ignore you for so long, but I was trying to stop thinking about your daddy and you made that impossible...anyway I'm going to try to be the best Mummy from now on...I can't wait to meet you in person."

"From what I've just heard, I think that you're going to make a wonderful mother, Amy." Doctor Bennett wiped the traces of the gel away from Amy's stomach and patted her gown into place, before pulling up the covers over her legs. "You even made me tear up a little and I'm an old hand at this sort of thing. I'm going to give you one last dose of the anti emetic treatment...but to be honest, I think that it was just your baby's way of making you face up to the fact that it wasn't something you could just tuck inside a drawer and ignore." Doctor Bennett tucked his card into Amy's hand as he rose from the stool near the bed. "You ever feel the need to just talk, give me a call...I'm either here or at my apartment watching sappy old romance movies...as I don't have a life outside of the hospital since Nancy's husband threw me over for her." Doctor Bennett raised his voice a little as he heard Nancy approaching Amy's bed with a small envelope containing the print outs. She tapped him on the shoulder with the edge of the envelope and he whirled around in mock surprise, and saw her grinning at him.

"Dream on, Doc...my Greg would never have fallen for a complete sap like you anyway; I mean, you're the only guy I know that can actually quote whole scenes from 'Titanic', that's why we all us girls love it when we get to spend the evening at your place while the men are off doing their 'manly' things."

"Yeah, but not one of them is prepared to come along to this year's 'The Sound Music' sing a long." Doctor Bennett groused a little as he leant over to switch off the ultrasound machine, ignoring Nancy's snort of derison.

"Blah, blah, blah..." Nancy laughed as she handed Amy the little white envelope. "Don't mind old grumpy pants here, he just can't take the fact that none of our crowd is particularly fond of musicals; male or female. I put a couple of extra copies in there for you, as it's your first time."

"Thank you...Uh, Doctor Bennett?" Amy took the envelope and passed it across to Bernadette to place in her purse for safekeeping.

"Please, call me Michael; after everything that we've discussed tonight - I think we can be a little less formal don't you think? I mean, after only five minutes conversation you've already learnt that I have a secret crush on my nurse's husband, I am unashamedly gay and that I love old fashioned musicals...even my mother doesn't know me that well."

"Okay...Michael...How would you feel if I gave your telephone number to a friend of ours who can not only quote almost every line from 'Titanic' but from 'Beaches' too? The only trouble is, well, he isn't a homosexual - just someone who is very in touch with his feminine side." Amy was running her fingers along the edge of Michael's card and caught the gleam of approval in Bernadette's eyes.

"You're thinking of Raj, aren't you?"

"Or Stuart...I remember Howard getting upset that Raj took Stuart along to last year's sing-a-long instead of inviting him."

"It might be nice to get out and meet a few new people..." Michael mused, "I've only been in Pasadena for about a year and apart from making friend's with the guys here, I don't really get out that much. It might be a little awkward though, I mean giving a complete stranger my phone number..."

"What about if you came over to meet them at the apartment instead? You could drop by on the pretext of checking up on Amy - but you'd really be checking out Stuart and Raj? We're all going to be taking turns sleeping over there once Amy gets moved in, we practically all eat there every night as it is...one more mouth to feed isn't going to be an imposition."

"That might be nice, is that okay with you, Amy?" Michael looked over at Amy for approval, she was just looking at Bernadette with her eyebrows raised up in query.

"Oops...I kinda forgot to let you know about that bit, huh?" Bernadette gave a breathy little giggle as she hopped up onto the side of the bed and proceeded to fill Amy in on what the group had discussed. Michael and Nancy looked on in amusement as Bernadette was nearly bouncing off the bed in excitement. "So, whadja think?"

"I think...I don't know what to think...you guys would really be willing to do that? Put your lives on hold just for me?" Amy's voice grew quiet as she tried to comprehend the sacrifices that Sheldon's friends...no, **her** friends were prepared to make for her. Bernadette saw the tears shimmering behind Amy's eyes and wagged a finger in her face.

"Don't you dare start crying again, Amy Farrah Fowler? You had Penny blubbering like a watering can earlier, and you know that you're only gonna set me off again...the 'Three Menstruteers' remember? Penny thinks that we're both gonna be sharing your hormones now that we're all synched up." Bernadette shoved a tissue into Amy's hand and grabbed one for herself at the same time.

"Gimme one of those." Michael demanded as he felt his own emotions running overboard. Bernadette grinned at the young doctor as she passed him across a tissue from her rapidly dwindling supply. "Amy, you'd better grab onto these friends of yours and never let them go."

"Yeah, they are the best aren't they?" Amy smiled through her tears and pretty soon even Nancy was beginning to feel a little on the emotional side too.

"Mikey, I think you need to take these ladies up on their kind offer to take you into their group. I might even come along and join you one evening, if I can tear Greg away from his crazy on-line games...he was up until three in the morning the other night, saying that he was tagging along with someone called 'Leaky' and 'Rocketman'."

"You're married to 'Gruesome Greg'!" Bernadette squealed and started bouncing on the bed again, a slight groan from Amy let her know that it probably wasn't the best of things to do. Amy motioned her away as she was offered the bowl again, and just sank back against the pillows and let the conversation flow around her. Bernadette slipped off the bed and walked over to Nancy, showing her a picture that she flipped out of her wallet. "Rocketman is my husband, Howard, he went up to the International Space Station... and Leaky is our friend, Leonard. All three of you totally need to come over and join the fun, Nancy can join in on the girls nights while Greg can join the boys in 4A...Although we usually end up with Raj and Stuart joining the girls after the first couple of hours."

"Sounds like a plan," Nancy agreed and she jotted down her number on a scrap of paper and passed it across to Bernadette to tuck inside her purse. "Give me a call in a couple of days and we'll set something up. Hey, Doctor B. you falling asleep on the job over there?"

"Nag, nag, nag...anyone would think she was the boss around here." Michael straightened his spine and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. "Okay little mama, I want you to try and get a good night's rest. I'll call in to see you in the morning, but I think I can safely say that there's a good chance we'll be letting you out of here so that you can move into your new apartment. Have a good night," Michael patted Amy's foot under the blanket and said his goodbyes to Bernadette. She sat back down in the chair next to the bed and looked over at Amy.

"You doing okay over there, little mama?" A light snore was her only response, and so Bernadette flipped on her phone to text her husband a goodnight, letting him know that Amy was resting quietly and that she loved her little Rocketman. She smiled as she received a similar text back, saying that Raj was sleeping in Leonard's old room and he was currently on Penny's sofa, he asked her to send their love to Amy and that he loved her too. Bernadette switched off her phone and curled her legs up into the chair as she tipped her head to the side, keeping a watchful eye over her dear friend sleeping quietly on the bed. "Goodnight, Amy. Pleasant dreams..." She whispered as she reached out a hand to stroke Amy's arm gently, before tucking the blanket snuggly around Amy's exposed shoulders. "Night, baby Sheldon..." She added softly and noticed a faint smile flitting over Amy's face as she spoke his name...


	4. Chapter 4

Michael was true to his word, and called in to check up on Amy before he started his rounds the next morning. He examined her thoroughly and checked her chart for her blood pressure results during the night.

"Any further outbreaks of nausea or anything else unusual?" He asked as he sat near the bed, Amy shook her head.

"No, I actually felt hungry this morning and managed to eat my whole breakfast. I feel quite extraordinarily well on the whole."

"That's good, I've made you an appointment in the clinic for a few weeks' time so that we can check your levels again. Something tells me that they're going to be coming down to a normal level now that you've come to terms with everything; you almost seem like a completely different person this morning."

"I do feel different, ever since Sheldon left I've been feeling a little distant…as though he was the only reason I felt accepted." Amy held out a hand to Bernadette, who took hold and squeezed back in response. "I now know that isn't true, and that I'm always going to have them around, we're family now…and I hope that you will be paying me a nice home visit in the not too distant future so that you can meet them all yourself."

"I'd like that a lot…Now, I'm going to sign your discharge papers on one condition…you need to take a couple of weeks just to get your energy levels back up. I want you to try and eat four small meals a day, nothing too heavy; but you need to get your weight back up a little so that you can provide the best start for that little one." Michael waved the papers under Amy's nose and Bernadette grabbed them, giving Amy a warning glare.

"Michael, you can be certain that Amy will follow your instructions to the letter, otherwise she'll have me to deal with; and…"

"No one wants to deal with an angry Bernadette…" Came a voice from behind the small woman; Howard had snuck onto the ward, taking the chance that Amy would be released that morning.

"I'll leave you to get dressed, Nancy will be over with your information sheets before you go…I'll see you soon." Michael smiled at the ladies and left them to greet Howard.

"Howie!" Bernadette walked over to greet her husband with a warm kiss and a hug before pulling back to frown at him. "Shouldn't you be at work? I was gonna call Penny to come over and pick us up in a while."

"Nah, we all arranged to take a few days off to get Amy settled at the apartment. Leonard spoke with President Siebert and he gave us all the time, no questions asked."

"Ooh crapsticks! I'd better call my boss as well!" Bernadette grabbed her phone out of her purse and strode out of the ward to place her own call. Howard moved over to perch on the edge of her abandoned chair and leant over to talk with Amy.

"How're ya doing, Ames? Feeling any better?"

"Much better, thank you Howard. I just wanted to let you know…well, I…" Amy started to crease the fabric of her blanket up in her fingers, and Howard leant over to still her movements.

"Amy, you don't have to thank me…or any of us for that matter…we love you, and we're gonna love that little baby too. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing to tell you the truth, I'm gonna be Uncle Howie!"

"I'm sure that you're going to make a great uncle, too." Amy turned her hand over to clasp Howard's tightly. "After all, we both love Neil Diamond and so it stands to reason that we're clearly the only sane ones in this whole bunch."

"Speaking of Neil Diamond, how do you feel about 'Caroline' for a girl's name?"

"Ooh, or 'Jess' as in Jess Robinovich…I like the way you think Mr. Wolowitz! I don't like 'Neil' for a boy though, I was once tormented by a boy of the same name at kindergarten and I'm afraid that it's rather tainted the name for me."

"You making sweet talk with my old man, Amy?" Bernadette snuggled next to Howard on the chair, their small frames fitting easily in the same space.

"Just throwing out a few suggestions for baby names." Howard kissed Bernadette swiftly on the lips and turned to face Amy once again. "Leonard spoke with the Head of your department, and just extended your leave by a couple of weeks, saying that you were moving houses. He didn't tell her anything about the baby; he thought that you'd want to fill them in on the particulars yourself."

"Good, I'm not sure whether I want to be starting another new trial now that we have more important matters to deal with. I just want to focus on getting myself together again, and maybe I'll take up the offer of writing that text book that the Dean keeps asking me for…I can easily work from home for that. Speaking of home, can we get out of here now please?" Amy looked over at Bernadette who jerked her head at Howard.

"Come on short stuff, clear the way… Amy needs to get dressed and I don't think she particularly wants an audience…" Howard blushed as he took in her meaning, and shuffled out of the way as Bernadette drew the curtains around the bed.

"Um, we haven't unpacked any of your things yet at the apartment Amy. We weren't sure whether you'd want to take Leonard's room or Shel...the other one." Howard nearly bit his own tongue off as he realised that he'd nearly said the name that Penny had told them specifically not to mention in Amy's presence until she brought it up herself.

"It is okay, Howard, you can say his name…I'd prefer to stay in Sheldon's old room. Could you ask the guys just to box up his clothes and move them into the closet for now…I don't mind his collectibles being around. I find them quite comforting in a way, they'd have to be moved once the baby's here of course." Amy's voice floated out from behind the curtain, sounding quite comfortable with the fact that she was finally going to be moving into Sheldon's room…but without Sheldon.

"Sure, I'll text them now and they can get started." Howard whipped out his phone and sent a text to Leonard and Raj. They both confirmed that it would be done before Amy made it home. He looked up as Bernadette opened the curtain to reveal a fully dressed Amy, who was practically glowing with excitement.

"Let's blow this pop stand!" Bernadette giggled at the sudden transformation, the depressed and fragile looking woman from yesterday had been replaced by a buoyant, expectant mother who was more than ready to get herself whipped into shape for the months ahead. They collected copies of Amy's paperwork from Nancy and extracted a further promise to meet up again with them soon, and Howard led them out into the car park where his shiny mini was sitting in the sunshine.

"Bernie…how are we gonna fit a baby in this contraption?" Howard looked over at his wife in dismay. "I'm never gonna get to drive the baby about in this tiny little thing…I knew I should've got the BMW instead!"

"Howard, don't worry. I'm going to need to choose a new car myself when the baby gets here. My car is eight years old now, and I will need to research the safest vehicles for transporting a child…you may help me choose if you like, and then you can drive my car whenever you want to play Uncle Howard." Amy patted Howard's arm consolingly, and he whirled around to enfold her in a hug.

"Thanks Amy, you really are the best!"

"Howie, you might wanna think about loosening that grip – or are you trying to make her yack all over your pants?" Bernadette tapped on Howard's shoulder as she saw Amy's face pale a little at how tightly Howard was hugging her. He immediately stepped away and looked over in concern.

"Sorry, Ames…guess I just got a little carried away there for a moment." He held open the passenger door and tipped the seat forward so that Amy could climb into the back. Bernadette cleared her throat and gave him a slight shake of her head, as she climbed into the back herself, leaving the front seat for Amy.

"God, the poor woman's barely out of her hospital bed and you'd have her folding herself like a pretzel to get in the backseat." She muttered as she fastened her seatbelt. Amy gave her a smile of thanks as Howard pulled the seat forward so that Amy could get in. He made sure that her seat belt was securely fastened before closing the passenger door and walking around the car to get behind the wheel.

"So, ladies…any stops you'd like to make along the way? Drive through…Babies r us…? Anywhere at all?" Howard started the engine and hoped that he didn't sound too eager when he mentioned the baby store.

"Home for now, thank you, Howard. I'm feeling a little tired and I need to carefully look through the dietary requirements in the leaflets from the hospital. I'm going to have to make some changes in my eating habits…too many take away meals could be harmful to the baby, and I've always thought that having four take outs a week was a little excessive anyway." Amy leant her head back in the seat and looked over at Bernadette who was already reading through the leaflets and scribbling down notes in her jotter.

"Drop Amy off at the apartment…grocery shopping…pack suitcase…cancel cable subscription…" Amy heard Bernadette muttering from the backseat and craned her neck around to see what she was writing.

"Bernie, cancel cable subscription really?"

"Leonard has cable, we're over there most nights anyway…so yeah, cancel cable subscription…" Bernadette's tone warned Amy not to make an issue out of it and she turned around to face forward, sharing a smile with Howard at how much she sounded like his own Mother when she was riled up.

"I guess I shouldn't tell her that we lost the toss over who gets to stay with you first then…"  
>"Howard Wolowitz, you'd better not be telling me that! I've just booked a whole week off work to get Amy settled in and we don't even get to spend a single lousy night?"<p>

"I'm sorry honey, but we lost. Let's face it, when have we ever won a match against Penny anyway? She's still miffed that you got to spend the night with Amy in the hospital, I had to let her have something…You can still go over during the day; she's got a couple of auditions coming up this week and so won't be there the whole time…Raj and Leonard will though, when I left they were trying to work out the optimum location for the rocking chair, crib and changing table…oops…forget I said that…you didn't hear anything!"

"Howard…" Bernadette growled, she hated being kept in the dark about anything but this took the biscuit. "What have you been up to?"

"It wasn't me…well, it wasn't just me…You'll see when we get home, and speaking of home – here we are!" Howard pulled over into a visitor's space and hopped out of the car to open the door for Amy, he guided her to the curb before going back to the car to help Bernadette out of the back. "Amy, shall we?" He offered one arm to Amy and the other to his wife, as they made their way up the four flights of stairs to the fourth floor. He stopped just as they reached the final turn before the landing and asked Amy to close her eyes and trust him.

"Okay, but I'm really not that fond of surprises…"

"Then you're really gonna hate this one…" He muttered as he carefully guided Amy up the last few steps until she was standing just outside the door of her new home. Howard tapped twice on the door and Penny opened it up and took his place at Amy's side.

"You can open your eyes now…and if you hate it, please tell us…" Penny whispered as she held Amy's hand and watched the gamut of emotions flicker across her best friend's face as she took in the sight of the now transformed apartment. A huge 'Welcome Home' banner was draped across the ceiling and there were pink and blue helium balloons floating everywhere. The large dining table had vanished from the raised area at the back of the living room, where Sheldon and Leonard's desk now were placed back to back. The armchair had been moved to the spot where the desks had once stood and in it's place was a large, padded rocking chair with a soft cushion for support on the seat and draped over the back was a soft, white woven shawl; perfect for cradling a new-born. In between the rocking chair and the leather couch was a white wicker Moses basket heaped with a ton of tiny baby clothes in soft pastel colours. Amy followed the trail of balloons along the hallway into what used to be Sheldon's room; she pushed open the door to see a beautiful pine crib and changing table set up against the far wall, but in essence it was still as she remembered it – that lovely smell of talc in the air; mixed with a faint tang of citrus from his shaving foam. Amy sank onto the edge of the bed and breathed the scent deep into her lungs as she tenderly placed a hand over her abdomen.

"This was your daddy's special place, I guess it's going to be our special place now. I'm sorry he's not going to be with us, but you're going to have a whole heap of Auntie's and Uncle's to make up for it…"

"Ames, can I come in?" Penny tapped on the open door and Amy looked up to see her best friend hovering in the doorway.

"Sure, bestie…come and say hello to your little niece or nephew." Amy held out her hand in welcome and Penny sat down next to her on the bed. She gently placed her hand over the top of Amy's and leant her head on her shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're gonna be okay…you really scared me for a while."

"I scared me too," Amy admitted as she continued to rub her still flat tummy. "I brought something back for you…could you ask Bernie to come in for a minute and to bring her purse with her?"

"Sure thing, little mama." Penny walked over to yell from the doorway. "Bernie, Amy wants you to bring your bag in…she says she has a prezzie for me; although I can't think what you could have brought back from the hospital unless she's snuck someone else's baby in there."

"Almost bestie…but better." Amy drew her legs up on the bed and gestured for Bernadette and Penny to join her. They made an Amy sandwich as Bernadette handed Amy the small white envelope with a smile. "I asked Nancy to run off a few extra copies…Meet the new addition to the family." Amy pulled the ultrasound pictures out of the envelope and handed one each to Penny and Bernadette. There were at least ten copies in the envelope with a little note attached saying that she could get more if she needed them.

"Oh My God! Leonard!" Penny was crying as she took in all of the details of the little image. Leonard came racing down the hallway, closely followed by Raj and Howard expecting the worse, only to come to a crashing halt at the sight of the three weeping women lying on Sheldon's bed.

"What? Is there something the matter? Amy, are you okay?" Leonard felt a tightness in his chest and he grasped his inhaler tightly.

"I'm fine, Uncle Leonard." Amy passed him a copy of the picture. "Uncle Howard." Another copy, "Uncle Raj." All three men looked down at the image, the proof that Sheldon Cooper had done the impossible…it seemed that he wasn't a robot after all.

"Look, he has tiny hands and feet already…" Howard smiled as he looked over at Bernadette, she blushed and shrugged her shoulders in a 'maybe one day' expression. Leonard tipped his copy sideways and then realised that he was holding it upside down; he felt a prick of tears behind his glasses and discreetly wiped them dry as he pretended he was pushing his glasses up his nose.  
>"He? No, it's definitely a little girl…oohh think of the Princess parties we could have…" Raj cooed at the image and tucked it away into his shirt pocket. "I think I'm going to start a scrapbook with mine…when's your next ultrasound and do we get another copy?"<p>

"I've got another one at twenty weeks I think, but I'd have to pay for the extra copies…we only got extra ones this time because we made friends with the doctor."

"Tell me how much and I'll pay for a copy for anyone that wants one…"

"Me!"

"I do!"

"Yeah, okay…Of course, I do!" Leonard sounded as if he didn't care either way, but then excitement got the better of him and he wanted the same thing as everyone else did. "I'm going to pin this one up on the fridge."

"I'm gonna do the same over at my place…I can't wait for the next one! When was that again?" Penny bounced off the bed, and caught Amy's slight groan as the sudden movement made her stomach lurch again.

"Urghhh…No, we're good, although you might want to tone the excitement down a little. I think the baby likes things on the smooth side, no sudden moves – just like his daddy. The next ultrasound is at twenty weeks, I'm a little over sixteen weeks now, so in around four weeks. I have an appointment at the clinic next week, as they need to perform more tests on my elevated hormone levels…and then I'm not sure after that until I properly read the leaflets."

"The leaflets!" Bernie said as she took a flying leap off the bed and tugged Howard along with her, "We need to go grocery shopping, Amy needs to eat four small meals a day…and no take outs. Too much sodium and all other sorts of nasties. Back soon, everyone!" Amy looked around the suddenly empty room and rubbed her stomach again.

"I guess it's just you and me, baby…shall we go and see what your new chair feels like? Maybe it's gonna be just as comfortable as daddy's spot on the couch…" Amy shuffled over to the edge of the bed and made her way back into the living room. Leonard and Raj were arguing over where the best spot was to display the photo; the fridge or the notice board.

"We could take down all of this junk and make it into a sweet little baby board instead." Raj suggested and Leonard tilted his head to one side as he tried to remember what exactly was on the board in the first place.

"What the Hell, I never did understand that equation anyway. It was something Sheldon was tinkering with… let's take it down and throw it in his desk drawer." Leonard started to clear off the board and heaped the papers together on the counter ready for moving later. He noticed Amy walking into the room and standing in between the rocking chair and Sheldon's old spot on the couch…he nudged Raj as the stood watching her trying to decide where to sit. Leonard smiled as she finally decided to sit in Sheldon's spot and watched as she sank back into the cushions with a little sigh.

"You know, I can see now why he always wanted to sit here…it really is very comfortable." Amy said as she wriggled herself into the corner, shifting the stripy cushion until it was in just the right position in the small of her back.

"I guess Sheldon's spot has now officially become 'Amy's spot'." Raj muttered, and then brightened up when he realised that the rocking chair would now be free. "Yay, I get to sit in the rocker…this is a good day indeed!" He raced over to plop himself in the rocking chair and gave a little hum of appreciation as he felt the cushion mould itself to the shape of his body.

"Amy, can I get you anything? Tea, cocoa, water?" Leonard hovered behind the counter, feeling the need to do something.

"I'd love some tepid water please, if it's not too much trouble." Amy murmured sleepily from where she was nestled snuggly on the couch, resting her head on the arm.

"Of course, it's not too much trouble; you live here now, remember?" Leonard carried over a glass of tepid water and set it down on the small side table near the telephone and took his usual seat at the other end of the couch.

"I'm sorry, I guess it will take a little getting used to that's all." Amy apologised again, and Leonard reached over to pat her arm gently.

"Don't worry about it, I'm gonna switch on the tv; we'll watch some mindless drivel and it will be like you've always lived here. Trust me, it's how Sheldon got me to stay…" Leonard stopped talking as he realised that Amy had drifted off to sleep mid-sentence. "Or…if you wanna just go to sleep then that's okay too…" Leonard reached over to tug the blanket thrown over the back of the couch and draped it over Amy's sleeping form. It was the same blanket that she'd had on the back of her couch in her Glendale apartment and Raj had thought it made a nice touch to the brown leather couch. Leonard looked over at Raj rocking gently in the chair and smiled faintly…it was already feeling like they were getting the hang of this situation fairly quickly…until a familiar sounding voice coming across the hallway had him looking over to where Penny had left the apartment door open, and his jaw fell open in shock…


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: A big thank you to everyone that has taken the time to leave a review, favourite or follow this little tale, it's lovely when you realise that someone is actually reading your work. I hope you're ready for a little disappointment when you realise who the unexpected visitor is; Sheldon's not quite ready to make his reappearance just yet…There's also a little flashback teaser as so many of you requested one; it's nothing smutty as I wanted the flashback scene's from Valentine's night to be told from Howard and Bernadette's perspective, and anything too smutty wouldn't fit in with the ratings so we'll save that for another story... So where were we? Ah, yes...the unexpected visitor...**

"Aren't you just gonna sit there, Leonard? Or do you plan to invite me in any time soon?"

"Mrs. Cooper, sorry; I was just surprised to see you here that's all. Excuse me, do come in and take a seat." Leonard rose from the couch and walked across the room to greet Sheldon's Mother properly. "Here, let me take that bag for you."

"Now how many times have I asked you to call me Mary, Leonard? You are practically my third son after all, you've been there for Sheldon more than his own brother has. Now, come and greet me properly." Mary set her bag down near the door and held open her arms for a hug. Leonard grinned and returned her hug. "That's better. Now, sugar, what's this I hear about Shelly's little lady being under the weather?" Mary drew back from Leonard and peered over his shoulder to see Raj dozing in the rocking chair and where a pale and drawn Amy was napping on the couch.

"Wanna fill me in on what's going on around here?" Mary sighed as she looked around the room noting the pink and blue balloons and the Moses basket filled with tiny baby outfits.

"Uh…well…" Leonard lowered his gaze and shuffled his feet, glancing through the open door across to Penny's apartment, hoping that his disappearing fiancée would come along to rescue him out of the quicksand that he was slowly slipping into. But Penny's door remained firmly closed, and he guessed that she had fallen asleep on her couch after her race across the hallway to tack the ultrasound picture onto her refrigerator door.

"Leonard, I told you before that I picked up on a few things while raising Sheldon…I'm not completely stupid. He told me that you and Penny were engaged but he never mentioned that you and she were expecting a young 'un as well. Congratulations, I'm very happy for you both, I guess the wedding will be brought forward now that the cat's outta the bag."

"Um…Mrs. Cooper? Mary…Penny and I are not having a baby." Leonard stated and waved his hand over to the couch. "You may want to sit down."

"If you're gonna say what I think you're gonna say, then I think I definitely need to sit down." Mary perched on the edge of Leonard's abandoned cushion and rested her hands on her knees, smoothing the edge of her skirt in place. "Go ahead, I'm listening…" Leonard walked over to the notice board and removed the ultrasound image that he and Raj had carefully pinned into place just a short time ago; he walked back across the room, deliberately nudging Raj awake as he walked past the rocking chair. Raj's eyes opened wide as he saw Sheldon's Mother sitting next to Amy and he sat bolt upright in the chair. Leonard looked down at the picture and smiled a little before he passed it over to Mary.

"Oh my…" Mary looked down at the image and her eyes glistened with tears as she looked from the photo and then over to Amy. "Aww, snickerdoodle…you'd think someone that has the highest IQ of anyone I've ever met, he'd have been a little smarter than this."

"Actually, Mrs. Cooper; Amy's IQ is slightly higher than Sheldon's." Raj piped up and even Leonard turned around with surprise.

"Really? I didn't know that…how much higher are we talking?"

"195. How else do you think she was able to talk him out of those ridiculous clauses he kept adding to their agreements?" Raj leant forward as he lowered his voice, as not to wake the sleeping woman. " She told me in the strictest of confidences of course, she didn't want to make Sheldon feel less than adequate by rubbing his face in it all the time – you know like he does with you, me and Howard."

"Good God! That's just what we need…another frickin' Homo Novus running around the place. You'd have thought that they'd have been smart enough to work out what happens when you have unprotected sex. Ouch!" Leonard winced as Mary slapped him arm, "What was that for?"

"Cussing, Leonard…and taking the Lord's name in vain."

"Actually Bernadette told me that Amy had been taking the pill for quite some time, but unfortunately she seems to be immune to it…and that Sheldon must have incredibly strong sperm to be able to impregnate her on their first time." Raj chipped in and Leonard raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, so Bernadette told Howard and Howard told me…" Raj confessed and this time he was on the receiving end of a little love tap from Mary.

"That's for discussing things that should remain between a woman and her gynaecologist…I expected more of you, Rajesh and I'm a little disappointed in you too, Leonard."

"Why me?" Leonard was confused, how was this suddenly all his fault?"

"You didn't think to call me to let me know I was going to be a grandma? You must have had some idea what was going on surely?"

"No! I already told you, we haven't seen or heard from Sheldon in months, and we only found out Amy was expecting last night." Leonard yelled out in frustration and his sudden rise in voice woke Amy from her nap with a start, so much so that she immediately felt bile rising up in her throat.

"Urgghhh…You need to quit startling me like that…I told you before he doesn't like it." Amy sank back against the cushion and kept her eyes closed as she started the breathing exercises that Michael had taught her the previous evening. "Breathe in…and…out…In…and…out." When she started to feel a little better she opened her eyes to see Mary holding out mug of ginger tea.

"Here, try some of this sugar…Ginger is just the thing to settle a sickly stomach."

"Mary…? When did you get here? Did Meemaw or Missy come with you? How's little Mattie?" Amy took the mug from Mary and started peppering her with questions. Mary took a seat next to Amy on the couch and gently removed the mug from Amy's grasp and held her hand instead.

"Enough about me, little lady. It's time we had a little chat about you and that boy of mine."

"Oh…Well, I haven't seen or heard from Sheldon in quite some time…" Amy shifted her gaze away from Mary's knowing gaze and started picking at a stray thread from the crocheted blanket.

"Were you ever gonna tell me I was gonna be a grandma? Or were you hoping that I'd never find out?"

"I just didn't want to disappoint you…I knew that you'd disapprove and I couldn't face telling you." Amy found herself being drawn into Mary's comforting arms.

"Oh sugar, I can't exactly be preaching that anymore – not after Sheldon found me and Ron doing the naked rumba on the couch last spring." Mary rubbed her hand over Amy's soft hair and murmured comforting words as she held her tightly against her. "May I?" She questioned softly as she hovered her hand over Amy's still flat abdomen.

"Sure, although there isn't much to see or feel just yet. The doctor said that the baby is a little on the small side, but there doesn't appear to be anything wrong." Mary's face softened as she pressed her hand lightly to Amy's stomach.

"Hey there, snookum's this is your Nanna Mary speaking. I don't want you to be worrying your Mama any longer, your uncle George was a mite small at first but he's as big as a mountain now, so you just hurry up and grow so that you can come out and meet us all."

"Mary, I…?" Amy was choked up at Mary's words and felt a tear or two run down her cheeks. Mary lifted a hand and gently smoothed them away with her finger.

"Honey, I love that baby already and I love you for giving me another shot at being a Grandma…I could cheerfully wring Sheldon's neck right now for leaving in you this state, but we need to focus on you right now and not worry about what's going through that son of mine's head. Now, how far along are you? I need all the details…" Without looking away from Amy, Mary called out to the boys. "Leonard, Rajesh – I'm sure you won't mind if I talk to Amy alone for a little while. Go and make yourself useful by taking my bag into the spare room; and then you can make yourself scarce for an hour."

"But...Penny and I were…" Leonard started to protest that he and Penny were due to stay in the apartment but one firm look from Mary had him closing his mouth with a snap. "Yes, Ma'am. Come on Raj, let's go and tell Penny that we're not wanted."

"I never said that, Leonard. I'm grateful that y'all took care of my little girl, but it's my turn to take care of her in Sheldon's absence…Now, shoo!" Mary waited until Leonard and Raj had deposited her bag into Leonard's old room and left the apartment before she gestured for Amy to get comfortable again.

"I'm nearly sixteen weeks…it was a complete accident, I swear. I'd arranged a romantic weekend away to Napa Valley, we were having dinner aboard a vintage train with Bernadette and Howard…and Sheldon was not the least bit interested in spending time with me once he met Eric, a fellow train enthusiast…" Amy started to recall the events that had led up to this moment, and Mary nodded every once in a while as she looked over at the younger woman leaning comfortably against the cushions in such a similar manner to Sheldon's that it was almost like he was in the room with them.

"Yeah, that sounds like my Shelly all right. Something must have happened to change his mind…" Mary rose from the couch to pick up the now cold cup of tea and walked over to the kitchen to prepare them both another cup. She prodded Amy for more details as she held up the tea bags for Amy's consideration. Amy selected ginger again and Mary prepared the tea and passed one of the mugs over as she made herself comfortable in the rocking chair.

"Um, this is nice…well, you were saying? Sheldon was talking with someone named Eric? What happened next?"

Amy took a sip of the tea, and murmured her approval at the taste. "Mmm, much better than the chamomile…I don't think I'll ever be able to take another sip without it reminding me of last night."

"I'm the same way with Moon-pies – that's all I craved when I was carrying Sheldon and Missy; now though, I can't stand them…that's how he got his nickname…Now about you and Sheldon? Details, young lady!" Mary started the chair rocking gently and watched as Amy's face flushed in embarrassment.

"Mary, I can't tell you all of the details…But I will say that…." Amy looked up as the apartment door opened as Bernadette and Howard struggled in with their arms full of groceries.

"Howard, lovely to see and your dear wife again…but scram! Amy was just telling me all about how this little Munchkin came into being…" Mary smiled at the couple and then made a shooing notion with her hand. Bernadette gave a little giggle and Howard waggled his eyebrows up and down.

"Mrs. Cooper, Amy is not the kind of lady that would kiss and tell…however, my lovely wife would love to fill you in on all of the scandalous details while I put the groceries away and make a start on dinner."

"Howard! How on earth? You and Bernadette weren't even there! You were off star gazing as I recall…." Amy narrowed her eyes at Bernadette who plopped herself down next to Amy on the couch and started giggling again.

"Yeah, but we came back just in time for the main event!" Bernadette leant her head against Amy's shoulder and gave a dramatic sigh. "Oh, Mrs. Cooper it was like a scene out of an old movie…if I didn't have my Howie, I might have been tempted to make a play for Sheldon myself had I known he was capable of making moves like that."

"Well, darlin' if y'all gonna spill the juicy details, I think you had better call me Mary." Mary leant forward in the chair and propped her chin on her hands, "Go on, dear, don't leave me hangin'…"

"Mrs. Cooper – Bernie may be able to fill you in on what happened on the train, but wait until I fill you in on what happened at the B&B…" Howard leant over the breakfast counter and winked over at Amy's burning face, she hid her head in her hands and groaned aloud.

"You'll get your turn later, Howard. Now, scoot!" Mary patted Amy's arm. "Don't worry, dear…I'm sure Shelly didn't spill all the beans; I did raise him to be a gentleman after all…I'm sure you girls had a good gossip about it afterwards, after all every girl likes to compare notes once in a while." Amy groaned again and Bernadette leant forward to whisper something in Mary's ear. "None of you knew? What about Penny?"

"Nope, only me…and I know how to keep my mouth shut." Howard called over again, and wiped his hands with a paper towel. "Bernadette's probably gonna kick me out of the bedroom for not dishing up the details, but I promised Sheldon I wouldn't say anything; I even signed one of his wacky confidentiality clauses. You girls just let me know when you want me to provide the details and that paperwork is gone…like, poof!"

"He's a magician, he can really make things disappear." Bernadette said to Mary and she looked over at Howard who was busying himself scrubbing potatoes in the sink.

"I wish he could make me disappear…" Muttered Amy, feeling horribly embarrassed at the thought that Howard knew the most intimate part of her one doomed night with Sheldon.

"I'm sure it wasn't all that bad, dear. After all, you got the little Munchkin out of it. Now Bernadette, you were saying it was like a scene out of a movie…describe it to me and don't leave out a single detail…" Mary dismissed Amy's notions and waved a hand over to Bernadette to carry on.

"Well, it went like this….

Bernadette and Howard were walking back into the dining cart and paused as they saw that Amy and Sheldon were standing next to their table in the middle of a heated argument.

"What is your problem?" Sheldon asked his girlfriend who had just pulled him aside to yell at him, just as he was having a good time.

"It's Valentine's Day. We're supposed to be having a romantic weekend." Neither one of them were aware that Eric had slipped away, with Howard and Bernadette edging closer to keep an eye on the action taking place before them.

"Oh, really? Because I remember you saying that this trip was going to be something we could both enjoy. Did you mean that or were you just trying to trick me?"

"Fine, it's true. I deserve romance, and I didn't know how else to make it happen. Well, Sheldon you may have just proved your own point – you may have found something that made you happy on this train, but I've found the whole experience miserable and…I'm leaving!" Amy went to leave the dining cart only to find Sheldon holding onto her arm to keep her in place.

"Now hold on one cotton pickin' minute. You want romance? I'll give you romance…" Sheldon reached over to pick up Amy's glass of wine and took a large swallow, ignoring the fact that her lips had touched the same place just moments before. "Wine…mmm…urgh!" He gagged a little as the sting of alcohol hit the back of his throat. "Grape juice that burns…" Sheldon held Amy firmly by the arm as he stared directly at her. "Now we gaze deeply into each other's eyes…ha! You blinked, I win!"

"Sheldon…" Amy protested as Sheldon continued to make his point; that romance was a contrived notion and he wanted no part of it. Howard tugged on Bernadette's sleeve, feeling a little uncomfortable spying on their friends, but Bernadette slipped into an empty seat and continued to watch.

"Shhh…they're just getting to the good part! Look how close he's standing to her." Bernadette pulled Howard down next to her and leant her head on her hands as she watched the drama unfold.

"Let's see. What's next? Kissing's romantic." Sheldon spat out and lunged forward to press a hard kiss against Amy's lips, Amy just froze in place; not knowing what to do or how to act.

"Oh for the love of Shamy!" Howard groaned at the sight of Sheldon standing so stiffly, "He has absolutely no technique, watch he's gonna pull away any second now, and he'll probably wipe his mouth too…any second… I guess not then." Howard's mouth gaped open as he saw Sheldon take a step closer to Amy and then lean forward into her body. Sheldon gently raised his hand to press it against Amy's waist as he continued to press his lips against hers.

"Look, Howie…he totally leaned…Oh, it's so romantic!"

"Yeah, I guess Sheldon does have game after all."

They kept watching as Sheldon slowly broke the kiss and gazed into Amy's eyes.

"That was nice…" Amy spoke softly and Sheldon blinked and nodded in response.

"Good." His voice sounded huskier than usual and he wasn't quite sure what to do next. "Um…the conductor said if I come back to the engine room, he'd show me how to bring the train through a crossing."

"Okay, have fun." Amy nodded and took a step away from Sheldon and was surprised when he took a step closer instead of moving away.

"Do you want to come with me?" Sheldon couldn't keep his eyes away from Amy, and held his breath as Amy thought about his invitation.

"I do, I really do." Sheldon reached down to take her hand, and felt her fingers curl around his in response.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Eric's familiar tone called out from down the corridor and Howard saw the familiar gleam appear in his wife's eyes and knew what she was about to do.

"Just make it look like an accident, okay?" Bernadette gave him an evil looking grin before she deliberately held out her foot to trip Eric up as he raced along the dining car in an effort to reach the engine room. He hit the floor with a groan and Bernadette cooed over his fallen body.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…Can I get a little help over here?"

"I wondered why we didn't see Eric any more that evening, was he badly hurt?"

"Just a broken ankle…nothing too major." Bernadette shrugged off the event as if she had nothing to do with it. "No thanks necessary, I did what I had to do…I'd sat and watched him interfere all night and I wasn't about to let him interrupt the Shamy again."

"Sorry, the what?" Mary was puzzled, and wrinkled her brow in confusion. "What on earth is a Shamy? Is that some kind of new-fangled expression for bedroom activities in California?"

"No, Shamy is what they like to refer the pairing of Sheldon and me. It's a juvenile acronym and I've told them time and time again that I don't like it." Amy stated as she pulled Sheldon's cushion over to hug it to her chest.

"You can thank Penny for that, Ames...it's permanently branded into our heads now. You are officially the Shamy and you can't get away from it."

"We're not 'officially' anything anymore. I sent him the cancellation of our relationship agreement over a month ago via e-mail. He had three days to refuse the cancellation, he didn't do so…and so we are officially no longer a couple." Amy's announcement had Howard and Bernadette looking stunned but Mary seemed unfazed by the declaration and merely reached over to pat Amy's hand.

"Good for you, darlin'. That'll teach him a thing or two about messin' with a woman in her time of need. Now, Howard – how about you fill me in on what happened later…Amy, why don't you go and take a nice soothing bath and relax a little before dinner?"

"Yeah, I think I will…I certainly do not want to hear what Sheldon had to say to Howard about the whole disastrous affair." Amy's face was scarlet as she scrambled up from the couch to head toward the bathroom; living through the experience was one thing, but to hear about Sheldon's side of the story was something that she certainly wasn't ready for.

"Give me a yell if you need any help." Bernadette called out, and Amy nodded as she made her way into the bathroom. Howard finished the last of the dinner preparations, sliding the potatoes into the oven and sprinkling the steaks with a little seasoning before covering them with plastic wrap and placing them in the fridge until they were needed. He wiped his hands with another paper towel and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge as he thought about how to start his story.

"I'd got up early to head downstairs for the morning paper when I saw Sheldon sitting outside of their room with his head in his hands…he'd obviously been there for some time as his clothes were all wrinkled from where he'd been leaning against the door. As he looked up it was obvious to me that he'd been crying…"


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: For those of you that might not have picked up on the importance of the 'leaning' reference that Bernadette made to Howard; it's a line from the movie 'While You Were Sleeping' where Jack had seen Joe Jnr 'leaning' into Lucy. Here's a little snippet for anyone that is interested:**

Lucy [to Jack] Okay, um. What do you mean by the leaning thing? You mean because he gave me flowers?

Jack: And then you *leaned*

Lucy: And then I leaned.

Jack: Yeah.

Lucy: Okay, how did I lean when I leaned?

Jack: It was a lot different from hugging. Hugging's very different. Hugging that involves arms and hands; and leaning is whole bodies moving in like this [leans toward her suggestively] Leaning involves *wanting*... and *accepting*. *Leaning*...

Joe Jnr: Hey Luce! Is this guy bothering you?

Lucy: [Laughs] No, no.

Joe Jnr: Are you sure? Because it looks like he's *leaning.*

**Ok, so now I have to bash this chapter out because I really need to sit down and watch that movie again….**

_"I've ruined everything, Howard." Sheldon looked up and scrubbed at his face with his hands, and was startled to find Howard pressing a tissue into his palm and taking a seat next to him on the floor. "I've given in to my baser urges and I don't know what to do…it was a disaster, and I don't think Amy will ever be able to look me in the eye again."_

_"Sheldon, I take it that you and she…?" Howard didn't quite know how to ask the question delicately and thankfully he didn't have to._

_"Amy and I engaged in coitus last evening, and it was everything that I thought it would be. Messy, undignified and perfectly horrid!"_

_"Horrid, are you sure you want to use those exact words?" Howard looked over and saw that Sheldon was being careful to avoid his gaze. "Sheldon?"_

_"Perhaps horrid isn't quite accurate…Howard, I feel as it I'm no longer in control of my bodily functions any longer…I had to get out of there before I became a raving lunatic!"_

_"So, definitely not horrid then. Sheldon, it's perfectly natural…what you and Amy shared last night was bound to be a little awkward at first; neither of you had any experience and so it might not have been all fireworks and explosions, but it will get better in time."_

_"Who said there weren't fireworks and explosions? Trust me, Howard, I did my research and I can assure you that there were plenty of 'fireworks' going off in that room…That's part of the problem…what if I could only act like that last night because of the whole valentine's day atmosphere? What if I am incapable of 'performing' when it is just an ordinary day? No, I can't let that hotsy totsy get the better of me, I am after all a Homo Novus and as such should be able to control myself better. I just need to step back and not let my emotions cloud my better judgement." Sheldon took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. _

_"Kolinhar, Sheldon you are not a Vulcan; you can't just turn your emotions off whenever you feel like it!" Howard knew exactly what Sheldon was trying to do and tried to make him understand that real life didn't work like that. "Sheldon, you love Amy and last night only proved that…"_

_"Love Amy? I never said that I loved Amy!" Sheldon rose to his feet in a panic and started pacing up and down the small hallway, combing his fingers through his hair, making it stand up on end._

_"Of course you do, it's obvious to anyone that looks at the two of you…"_

_"Oh my God, I'm doomed…I can see it now, she'll expect me to propose, and then we'll have to get married, start a family and all my dreams of a nobel prize are down the drain…" Sheldon came to a halt at the end of the hallway and looked over to see Howard laughing quietly. _

_"Sheldon, it's the opposite actually. You start to make her dreams your dreams and vice versa…Heck, do you really think I ever thought I would go up into space like I did? Well, until I married Bernadette, I would have never been brave enough to do something like that. It's the same for you and Amy; do you really think she would be the type of person that would stand between you and your Nobel…No, she would be the first one to encourage you to pursue your desires; and I bet that you would be there for her if the situation were reversed."_

_"Of course, Amy already has a greater chance of winning one before I do; her research at the moment is leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else's in her field and I fully support her every efforts…Oh, I see." Sheldon suddenly realised what Howard had been trying to explain – he was already supportive of everything that Amy did now, and she was the same with him; if ever there were two people made for each other, it was the two of them. The sudden realisation that he was more deeply involved with Amy than he'd ever dreamt possible hit Sheldon like a ton of bricks and he suddenly felt very light-headed and had to sit down again. "I am in love with Amy Farrah Fowler."_

_"I know, buddy. So what are you going to do about it?" Howard patted Sheldon's back and heard the other man sigh heavily._

_"I have no idea…" _

"Sheldon really said all that?" Amy asked in disbelief, natural curiosity had got the better of her and so she had sat on the edge of the bath with the door open so that she could hear what Howard had to say. She made her way back into the living room and was now standing near the rocking chair looking at Howard in disbelief. "He really said 'fireworks' and that he loved me? I thought he hated it, he reverted back to only kissing me on our scheduled date nights and then I had to remind him."

"He never told you to your face?" Mary reached up to take Amy's hand where it was gripping the back of the chair so tightly that her knuckles were showing through her pale skin.

"No, never…I thought he might have been coming close a time or two…but he always changed the subject. Then everything else happened and he just left…he said he needed time and space to sort through the jumble in his head and I accepted that. I know how difficult he finds change and let's face it, a whole mess of changes all at once was bound to have set him off."

"Take it from me, Amy, that man did love you; and probably still does. If you had seen his face out in that hallway there would have been no doubt in your mind…he's so proud of you and he's certain that you will get a Nobel before him. He was even talking about where you could hang it…over here or at your place." Howard rose from the couch and touched Amy lightly on the shoulder. "Why don't you go and take that bath now, while I take care of the dinner? You look all done in, we'll eat early and you can have an early night. Bernie, why don't you pop across the hall and let the guys know that dinner will be in around thirty minutes?"

"Okay, Howie." Bernadette hopped off the couch and headed for the door, she turned just as she was about to twist the handle. "Amy, I won't mention any of this to the others; it will be our little secret, okay?"

"Thank you, Bernadette." Amy smiled gratefully and Bernadette nodded as she headed across the hallway.

"You have a lot of good friends here, darlin' and I'm glad that they are supportive of you. If there comes a time when you feel you need to get away, I just want you to know that there will always be a room for you and the munchkin at my house. You're part of the Cooper clan now, and you will always find love waiting for you in Galveston." Mary held onto Amy's hand before she could escape into the bathroom.

"Thank you, Mary. You don't know how much that means to me…excuse me, please." Amy tugged her hand out of Mary's grasp and hurried off down the hallway, struggling to hold back her tears. Mary went to follow her, but Howard pressed her back down into her seat as he jogged across the apartment to open the door.

"Leave her for a moment, Mary; she's never had a supportive Mother and she's probably feeling a little overwhelmed…I'll get Penny and Bernadette to check on her. I'll be right back." Howard ran across the hallway and knocked lightly on Penny's door before opening it to poke his head inside. "Hey Penny, could you and Bernadette come over for a second. Amy's having a bit of a meltdown and I need you to make sure she's okay."

"Howie, what did you say to her?"

"Nothing, I swear. After our little chat, Mary just said that there would always be a room for Amy and the baby in Texas and that she was part of the Cooper family now. Amy just burst into tears and ran into the bathroom. I didn't even mention Sheldon, I promise! Now will you please come over and make sure she's alright?" Howard found himself left alone with Leonard and Raj as Penny and Bernadette raced back across the hall. Mary pointed at the bathroom, where the sounds of Amy's sobbing could be heard through the thin walls.

"She won't let me in, I didn't mean to upset her."

"Trust me, Mary; it wasn't you. She's never had a loving mother of her own, and you've probably just made her very happy; just for being you." Penny reassured Mary as she and Bernadette walked down the hallway and tapped on the bathroom door. "Ames, it's Penny. Please let me in, sweetie."

"I'm okay, I just need a minute…" Amy's soft voice replied and Penny heard her blowing her nose loudly and the door slowly opened. "Could you apologise to Mary for me please? I just couldn't…I mean…even my…Oh, dear…" Amy started crying again and Penny placed her foot against the door to prevent Amy from closing it in their faces.

"Bernie, why don't you get the water running and I'll help Amy out of her clothes…Come on, sweetie, you'll feel a lot better after a nice, warm bath. Bernie will even use that thermometer thingy so that it's not too hot." Penny gently moved Amy into Sheldon's old room and started helping her undress. Amy's tears slowly started to dry up and were soon down to sniffles as Penny helped her strip down to her underwear. She wrapped a warm robe around her shoulders and as she tied it closed she stood back a little with a quizzical expression on her face.

"What are you staring at bestie?"

"I think you've suddenly started sprouting a little pod in there. I'm sure you weren't showing this much earlier…"

"Really?" Amy looked down at her abdomen but couldn't see any difference. "It looks just the same to me…"

"It must have been all the layers you were wearing, I think I must have taken off at least five layers." Penny steered her into the bathroom where Bernadette was just turning off the taps.

"There you go, all ready. Drop the robe, Amy; we're all friends here." Bernadette ordered gently and then gasped as she saw what Penny had seen earlier.

"I know, you see it too right?"

"Amy…you look enormous!" Bernadette turned Amy around so that she could look at herself in the full length mirror along the back wall. Due to the few pounds that Amy had lost over the last few weeks and the removal of her many layers of clothing, the slight rounding of her abdomen became very obvious.

"Oh…I guess you can't really see it when I'm sitting down…but like this...Oh…" Amy dropped a hand down and gently rubbed the little mound. "It's hard to believe that something that's only a few centimetres long can cause such a difference."

"A few centimetres, is that all?" Penny tried to judge the size by looking at the length of her finger and the slight bulging of Amy's stomach.

"Yeah, about the size of a small avocado." Amy continued to stroke her tummy as she gazed into the mirror. "Over the next three to four weeks it will double in size until it gets to about the length of a banana…I should be able to feel slight movements by then, and we should be able to see more on the next ultrasound."

"So that's what Leonard and Raj were printing off in my apartment earlier. They had this weird selection of fruit and veg and were making up a collage to put on the notice board…" Penny tapped her finger against her lips thoughtfully as she helped Amy get into the bathtub. "Wait until I tell them that they got it wrong, they had you down for an apple and instead you're an avocado…Bernie, can you look after Amy while I go and break the news gently? What comes after avocado?"

"I'm not sure, there's a chart in one of the leaflets…it might be a large tomato or bell pepper but you'd have to look it up." Amy leant back against the end of the bath with a sigh and cracked one eye open to peer at Bernadette who was perched on the lid of the closed toilet. "You don't have to stay, Bernie. I'll be okay."

"No, you might feel a little dizzy when you get out so I'll sit right here until you're ready. We're all girls so you just go ahead with what you need to do…you're going to have to get used to accepting help when you need it, somehow I think that Mary may want to stick around for a little while…" Bernadette crossed her ankles as she looked around the small bathroom, trying to make the whole shared bathroom experience a little less embarrassing for Amy.

"Okay, I'm done." Amy announced and leant forward to drain the water out of the bath. "I'm suddenly starving, could you lend me an arm in case I topple over?"

"Sure, honey. Whatever you need." Bernadette held onto Amy's arm for support as Amy lifted one slender leg over the side of the tub, followed by the other. "Did you bring anything in to change into?"

"Shoot! No, Penny was so determined to get me out of my clothes that it completely slipped my mind. If it's not too much trouble could you bring me in something to wear…actually, and I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this…but do you think you could find me one of Sheldon's shirts to put on? I've been sleeping in his old Flash t-shirt but I don't know where any of my clothes ended up." Amy started to dry herself off and Bernadette stopped her movements.

"Honey, if you want Sheldon's clothes moved back into your room that's perfectly okay. We only took them out because we didn't want you to be upset by seeing them everywhere."

"I just miss him so much…and smelling his clothes or wearing his shirts makes me feel as if he is still here with me. I even sent him that stupid e-mail breaking our agreement as it's always brought him back in the past…" Amy admitted as she wrapped the towel around her damp body and slumped onto the toilet seat.

"Wait here a minute, and I'll go and see what I can dig up." Bernadette patted her shoulder and left her in the bathroom. Amy could hear her rustling through the boxes stored in Leonard's room and then crossing the hallway into what was now Amy's room. A few minutes later Bernadette re-appeared with an armful of clothing, which she presented for inspection.

"I brought you some underwear and a pair of leggings from your things; and tonight's shirt is…Green Lantern."

"Perfect. Could you please turn around a moment whilst I get changed? I know it may seem silly, but…"

"It's not silly at all." Bernadette turned her back and could hear Amy dropping the towel and the rustle of clothing being pulled into place.

"Okay, you can turn around now." Amy's quiet voice had Bernadette turning to face her friend who was now dressed in her own leggings and Sheldon's green t-shirt. It may have only come down to Sheldon's elbows but on her slight frame the sleeves were three quarter length and the material covered her to her knees but was thin enough to cling to the slight bulge that was making it's presence known.

"You look very comfortable, here, I grabbed some warm socks for you to wear. I couldn't find any of yours so these are Sheldon's too…"

"Oh my, wearing his underwear…how scandalous." Amy quipped as she sat on the toilet seat and pulled on the socks.

"All right, enough of the dirty talk…I thought you said you were hungry?" Bernadette handed Amy a brush to run through her damp hair and the two of them left the bathroom smiling as they made their way back into the living room. Amy headed to the kitchen but Howard waved her away and made her sit back on the couch.

"Go and sit down, I'll bring it over to you when it's ready. Nice shirt, by the way."

"Yeah, it suits you better than it did him. Green was never part of his colour palette, it made his skin look a little too pasty." Raj added from where he and Leonard were re-arranging the print outs on the notice board. "No, Leonard! The squash comes after the carrot at twenty two weeks…"

"Enough with the fruit and vegetables, guys! You're making me hungry just thinking about it…and it feels a little cannibalistic." Amy grimaced lightly and wondered why everyone turned around to stare at her.

"Nice one, Ames…You actually cracked a funny…" Penny called out from where she was sprawled in the armchair waiting for Howard to finish up with the steaks.

"I wasn't trying to be funny, Penny. The fruit and vegetables that Leonard and Raj are displaying represent my baby's growth rate week by week; I am feeling hungry looking at the images ergo it feels like I will be eating my unborn child."

"Now you're starting to sound like Sheldon…instant buzz kill." Leonard muttered and felt guilty when he saw Mary reach up to press a tissue against her eyes. "Sorry, Mary."

"No, it's all right, sugar. I was just thinking on how much Amy reminds me of Sheldon, especially when she's explaining things real slow…and seeing her in that shirt, well it just reminds me that he's not here…" Mary reached over to take Amy's hand and they held onto each other tightly for a moment.

"And on that note, ladies and gentlemen; dinner is served." Howard announced from the kitchen and everyone raced over to collect their plates. He placed Amy's meal on a small tray and took it over to the couch. She took the tray with a smile of thanks and noticed his gaze flicking down to her stomach.

"Yes, it's a baby…and no you can't feel it. You can't really see it when I'm wearing my layers but I can't seem to hide it any longer…and it's only going to get bigger."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare…" Howard apologised and stepped back into the kitchen to collect a tray for Mary. He handed it over and sat on the floor in front of Bernadette and looked around the group. "It was just suddenly there, and it made everything seem very real…We're really having a Shamy baby, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we really are." Leonard looked over at Penny who was looking at Amy, Bernadette leant down to squeeze Howard's shoulder and everyone was smiling as they tucked into their meal.

"Amy, sugar…would you mind if I called Meemaw and Missy to give them the good news?" Mary suddenly asked and Amy nodded her agreement as Howard dragged Amy's laptop over to the coffee table and made the call. As they waited for Meemaw to accept they continued to eat and chat amongst themselves.

"Mary, is that you?" Meemaw's white hair came into view as she accepted the Skype call. "Did you find out what's the matter with poor Amy?"

"Yes, Meemaw…she's right here as a matter of fact. Amy come on over and say hello to Sheldon's Meemaw."

"Hello, Mrs. Cooper. It's lovely to see you again." Amy leant over to wave at the screen and then sat back in her seat to let Mary continue the conversation.

"Darlin', what have I told you? It's Meemaw or Ellie, but not Mrs. Cooper… that just makes me feel old." Meemaw's voice faded slightly as she drifted out of shot to speak to someone just out of view.

"Who's that with you Meemaw? Is that Missy? If it is tell her I have some exciting news…"

"No, it's just George – he popped in to chat before heading over to Dallas." Meemaw's eyes twitched slightly as she spoke, and Mary could tell that she was keeping something to herself…it was probably just George having another one of his lady friend problems, and so Mary dismissed it as unimportant. "So, what's the exciting news?"

"I'm going to be staying in Pasadena for a little while, taking care of Amy."

"What aren't you telling me, Mary?" Meemaw slipped out of shot again as there was another rumble of voices away from the microphone. "Hush up a little and I'll find out..." Meemaw said as she dragged the laptop a little closer to her.

"Meemaw, what's going on over there? Have you heard from Shellybean at all recently? I need to have a word with that young man about his recent activities…" Mary hushed Amy as she was about to protest, and turned back to the screen just in time to see that tell-tale twitch by Meemaw's eye – a trait passed down to her Grandson. "You have heard from him and you didn't think to tell me? Oh, Meemaw…"

"I'm sorry, Mary but he asked me not to…he said he had some things still left to sort out but that he would be in contact soon."

"Hmm…I'll believe that when it actually happens. Now, as I was saying…I'm going to be staying at Sheldon's place for a little while, I don't know when I'll be back exactly but it won't be for a while…Meemaw, are you still there?" Mary leant closer to the screen and then moved it away when it went a little blurry.

"I'm still here, Mary. Do you think you could put the laptop down onto the table so I can see everyone?"

"Sure…" Mary set the laptop down and angled it so that it captured everyone in frame.

"Now isn't that cosy?" A soft, familiar twang came over the microphone and a slender, pale face came into shot. "Now somebody had better fill me in on what the hell is wrong with my girlfriend or so help me God, there will be strikes made against all of you."

"Sheldon Lee Cooper! You sit your hind end back in that chair and don't you dare take our Lord's name in vain again!" Mary's blood boiled at the sight of her son sitting in his Meemaw's living room without a care in the world when she was miles away in California taking care of those he left behind.

"Mother…"

"Don't you Mother me, Sheldon! I've been worried half out of my mind wondering where you were all of this time…and you were at Meemaw's the whole time?"

"Not the whole time, no. Just the last few months…"

"Sheldon…" Mary sighed heavily and looked over at Amy's shocked face. "There's something you need to know…"

"No, Mary." Amy placed her hand on Mary's arm to prevent her from talking. "There's nothing that Sheldon needs to know. He's made his feelings perfectly clear on the matter. Now, if you will all excuse me, I'm feeling very tired and I think I will have an early night." Amy rose up from the chair and nudged the laptop slightly to one side in order to keep her body away from the camera.

"Amy! Amy! Is that my Green lantern shirt you're wearing? I demand that you remove it this instant!" Sheldon's strident tones could be heard through the speaker as he saw Amy moving away. "Mother, tell her to take it off!"

"Sheldon Lee Cooper! I suggest you leave the room immediately and pass me over to your Meemaw…I'm feeling very angry with you right now and I don't want to speak with you until I've calmed down…Did you hear me, young man?"

"Yes Ma'am." Sheldon's apologetic tone came through loud and clear and Mary soon saw Meemaw sit down in front of the computer screen again.

"I'm sorry, Mary, but when poor Moon-Pie turned up…" Meemaw began to speak, when Mary held up her hand for her to stop.

"Not now, Meemaw; I really don't want to hear it right now…I've got too much to deal with here to think about how Sheldon's feeling right now."  
>"It's that sweet little Amy isn't it? Is she sick, darlin'?" Meemaw's face was filled with concern for the younger woman that thought the world of her favourite grandson, and from what he'd been telling her, the feeling was mutual.<p>

"Apart from being a little sick in the heart and soul from being rejected by that nitwit son of mine…she's fine…or she will be fine in another couple of months or so…Meemaw we're gonna have ourselves another grandbaby!" Mary excitedly exclaimed and a loud thud was heard from the speakers. "Meemaw? Meemaw?"

"Oh dear…it seems Sheldon was listening in as usual…that was him hitting the living room floor…"

"Is he bleedin' at all?"

"No, just fainted dead away."

"Then just leave him to wake up on his own. Do you want to see a picture of the little munchkin?"

"Sure do…"

"Look, ain't that the sweetest little thing you ever did see?" Mary held up the ultrasound image to the screen and Meemaw sighed at the sight.

"Have you got a spare one of those that you can send me? I could start a scrapbook up, just like I did when Missy was expecting."

"I don't know, Penny? Do you know if Amy has any spares?" Mary looked over to Penny but it was Bernadette that fished inside her bag for the envelope.

"Here, for some reason they printed off a whole load extra. We can send one of these down."

"How long will that take? Can't you just put it in that scanner thingy for me? I can get Missy or George to print me off a copy."

"Sure, Mrs. Cooper. I can do that for you now if you like and e-mail it to you." Leonard took the photo and walked over to where his laptop and printer were set up in the alcove by the window.

"Better send it to Sheldon's address, I can't work out how to get into mine." Meemaw stated and looked behind her at the still body of her grandson lying on the floor behind her. "I'd better sign off now, so that I can take care of Moon-Pie…what shall I tell him when he wakes up?"

"Nothing, if he wants to find out anything you tell him he'd better get his hind end back to California…If Amy wants him to know, she'd have told him earlier. Good night, Meemaw."

"Night, honey. Give my love to Amy and the munchkin, hopefully I'll see you both soon." Meemaw blew everyone a kiss and the screen went dark. Mary closed the lid of the laptop and sighed heavily.

"I guess we just wait and see now. If my boy's got a lick of sense, he'll be on the first flight out of Dallas…Knowing Sheldon though, he'll insist on taking a train – so that gives us a few more days to prepare."


	7. Chapter 7

Mary shot bolt upright in bed as a series of muffled sounds coming from the living room woke her from a deep sleep. She reached out and grabbed the first thing that came to hand and crept down the hallway; her first instinct to protect her sleeping charge at all costs.

"Take one more step and I'll drop you where you stand. I'm from Texas and you should know that I've taken the first prize in the State Fair on more than one occasion." She warned as she pointed her weapon at the dark shape stumbling around the living room.

"I don't think a blue ribbon in Pecan Pies count, and isn't that a Darth Vader torch you're threatening me with?" A familiar voice had her hand falling to her side and peering through the darkness.

"George Jnr, is that you son? What on earth are you doing stumbling around in the dark?"

"Well if I could find the damned light switch, maybe I wouldn't be in the dark!"

"Language, George!"

"Sorry, Mama." George apologised and continued stumbling around, bumping into things before he finally found the light switch on the wall nearest the hallway. "Damn it Sheldon! I swear to God, Mama that boy is as slippery as a snake in July! He was right by my side a moment ago and now he's vanished again! I knew I shouldn't have poured that third Scotch down him…"

"Sheldon's here in California? How'd y'all get here so fast? I only called Meemaw a few hours ago?" Mary sat down on the hallway steps and looked up at her eldest son in surprise.

"You can thank Missy's old man for this one; Meemaw got straight on the wire and called an emergency summit meeting while Sheldon was still out cold. Mike called up one of his pal's and somehow arranged for a chartered jet to bring us here…Sheldon woke up screaming blue murder as we were halfway over Dallas and the only way to calm him down was to pour Scotch into him. We grabbed a cab from the airport; dropped Mike, Missy and Meemaw at a hotel and then came straight over…now though, I have no idea where he is…I thought he was behind me but he could be passed out in the hallway for all I know." George sat down next to his Mother and leant his head back against the wall, tiredness seeping into his every bone. Mary looked over at her eldest son and swiped his dark hair away from his brow; he reminded her so much of her late husband that it was sometimes like looking at her old wedding pictures. George Jnr wasn't a good half foot shorter than his younger siblings, but packed more muscle on his shorter frame than the pair of them put together.

"You did good, George. I'm real proud of you. Now, you look all done in, why don't you settle yourself down in my bed for a nap and I'll go look for Shelly." Mary rose up from the steps and held out a hand to help George up to his feet.

"Now Mama, what kind of gentleman would I be if I turned a lady out of her bed at three o'clock in the morning? You raised me better than that. No, you go on back to bed and I'll check the rest of the apartment for Shelly…knowing him, he's got his head down the toilet and is praying that God will put him out of his misery." George smiled at his Mother as he placed a gentle hand in the small of her back and steered her back down the hallway. As they reached the end, Mary happened to look over in the direction of Amy's room and noticed the door standing ajar.

"He'd better not be doing what I think he's doing…that poor girl's had enough of a shock for one day; she doesn't need Sheldon yelling her awake in the middle of the night as well!" Mary fumed as she strode toward the door and nudged it open with her foot. George reached the entrance first and when he saw what was going on, he held out a hand to stop Mary from entering.

"Uh…Mama…I don't think Sheldon's gonna be wakin' up anytime soon…take a look, but keep your voice down." George murmured in a quietly shocked tone and Mary edged around her son and saw what had him amazed. Sheldon had managed to navigate his way around the apartment in total darkness and was now sleeping heavily in his own bed; curled up around Amy. She'd kicked off the comforter during the night and had removed her grey leggings when she'd gotten overheated. Sheldon's legs were entwined with hers and one of his slender arms was wrapped around her waist holding her tightly against his body with their heads resting on the same pillow. What brought tears to Mary's eyes was the way one of Sheldon's hands was splayed over Amy's abdomen as if he were already cradling his unborn child. She looked at the way Amy had her hand wrapped around his arm, as if she recognised Sheldon's presence in her sleep and was seeking comfort, a faint smile was on both of their faces and Mary backed quietly out of the room, taking George with her.

"Well, that's a fine kettle of fish…I don't know how Amy's gonna take this when she wakes up." Mary shook her head lightly as she made her way back into her bedroom and scooped up a pillow off the bed and tossed it over to George.

"It might be Sheldon we have to worry about, rather than Amy…he was in a pretty terrible state on the plane. He was real shook up, Mama; cryin' an' everything." George flipped the pillow from hand to hand as he thought about Sheldon's emotional behaviour before he started drinking. "I ain't never see him act so…human…before. It kinda freaked me out a little, if I'm honest."

"Sheldon's always had real deep emotions, honey; he just got better at not keeping them to himself. I think he feels that he can only show them to a few people; like Meemaw. That all changed when he met Amy – she was suddenly the only one that could get him to open up a little, although even she admits that he's not real good at verbalisation."

"Well he's gonna have a heck of a hangover whenever he wakes up…we'd better try and get Amy up before him; who knows how either of them are gonna react when they realise who they're waking up next to. I need to get some sleep before I hit the ground…" George swayed slightly on his feet and cracked a jaw popping yawn. "I'm gonna bed down in the hallway just so that I can be near to whoever wakes up first…you go on back to sleep, Mama."

"Okay, George…you wake me as soon as you hear a stirrin' in there, ya hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Night Mama."

"Night, son. I love you."

"Love you, too." George murmured sleepily as he propped himself up against the wall in the hallway in between the two bedrooms. He was asleep before Mary could even get herself situated back in bed, and she took a moment to send a brief prayer of thanks up to the Almighty, for bringing her boys together in their time of trouble.

A few hours later, Amy shifted on the bed and sighed happily as the comforting scent of talc hit her nostrils.

"Mmm…Sheldon…" She smiled in her sleep and snuggled back against warmth emanating from the lean body pressed up against her in the bed…Her eyes snapped open in the early morning light as she realised that it wasn't just a Sheldon soaked dream she was having…not if the arm cradling her stomach had anything to do with it.

"Amy, darlin'…you didn't take off my shirt like I asked…you're in deep trouble, little lady." Sheldon's rough morning voice held a slightly off key note that warned her that Sheldon wasn't quite in charge of his faculties; the endearment spilling off his lips merely served to confirm it. Warm, slender fingers trailed a path up along her hand and up her arms to tease around the edge of one sleeve, slipping under to gently rub the material beneath his fingers. His other hand was rubbing along the hem of the shirt where it had ridden up during the night to the lacy bottoms of her panties to the morning air.

"Sheldon…" Amy murmured, trying to shift away from his seeking fingers. Her movements only causing his hand to slip further under her shirt until his fingers were splayed over her warm stomach entirely.

"Amy…" Sheldon replied back in that softly accented voice that always managed to send a shiver of pleasure down her spine. He felt her slight movement in the bed and it only made him curve closer around her body as her shiver echoed throughout his own body. "Mmm…you're so warm and cosy…don't wanna wake up yet, having a nice dream…"

"What are you dreaming about, Sheldon?" Amy asked softly as she turned her head slightly to see his slightly stubbly chin relax into a soft smile, not unlike his face whenever he thought about his beloved Koala's.  
>"Hmm…winning a Nobel…Amy's there in the front row, smiling and looking proud…I know it's only a dream 'cause Amy left me when I was actin' like a stupid baby…" Sheldon frowned a little in his sleep and then his expression grew softer as he slipped further into his dream. "Hmm…babies…I'm holding our baby, and it's a little girl with the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen…like deep pools of emerald's just like her Mama…I could spend all day just looking at them both…beautiful and they're both mine…Hmm, love you Amy…" Amy bit back a choked tear as she heard the words spilling out of his mouth, words that he would never dare say if he were sober and awake. She extracted herself carefully from his grasp and heard his grumbles as his arms reached out to hit empty space; she tensed a little when she thought he would wake up but he merely turned over onto his stomach and buried his face in her pillow, lightly snoring off the effects of the alcohol. Amy pulled on her discarded leggings and Sheldon's robe before leaving him to sleep it off.<p>

She opened the bedroom door only to nearly trip over the body lying across the entryway, she let out a high pitched squeak of alarm that had George sitting up and blinking the sleep out of his eyes and Sheldon sitting bolt upright in bed.

"Danger! Danger!" Sheldon shouted and then clapped his hand over his eyes as the early morning light threatened to burn out his retinas. "Oh dear Lord! I'm begging you, turn off that darned light!"

"And I thought you were the smart one in the family…that's sunlight Shelly, and I don't think anyone's invented a way to switch it off just yet." George rose up from the wooden floor and let out a groan as he worked out the kinks his body had accumulated from sleeping in an unnatural position.

"George, what did you do to me last night? I feel like I've been tossed around in a spin cycle of the washing machine; my stomach's doing loop the loops at the moment and I feel the urgent need to vomit profusely…" A gagging sound from the hallway had Sheldon looking over to the door and then there was the sound of the bathroom door flinging back against the wall. "Was it something I said? Oh, dear Lord…I'm definitely gonna puke…Outta my way, George…" Sheldon threw back the comforter and stumbled out of the bedroom, only to be held back by George grabbing onto the hem of his shirt.

"You're just gonna have to hold it in for a while, Sheldon. From the sounds of things, it could be a while…" The sounds of Amy's retching echoed down the hallway and Sheldon swallowed hard at the bile rising from the back of his throat. He looked around the hallway and blinked hard as his brain finally caught up with his eyes.

"You brought me back to Pasadena? You know that kidnapping is a federal offence, don't you George?"

"Someone had to do the right thing for once, and I'm grateful that it was George that dragged you back; 'cause I'd have hogtied you and put you in the cargo hold." Mary's strident tone had Sheldon swaying on his feet and looking as though he might pass out at any second.

"Hello, Mama." He murmured weakly, and Mary merely nodded stiffly as she brushed past him to head on how Amy was doing in the bathroom.

"You and me are going to sit and have a chat, real soon. But first I need to check on how poor Amy's doing this morning. Honestly Sheldon, what did you think you were doing creeping into bed with her in the middle of the night? You could've scared the poor girl out of her wits!"

"In my defence, I was not in possession of my full faculties and I thought I was dreaming…obviously I was caught up in some sort of nightmare instead! Kidnapped by my own family!" Sheldon shouted at his Mother's retreating figure and the rise in volume only served as a reminder of the night before when it felt like hot pokers were pressing through the top of his head. He sagged against the walls, hoping that their support would keep him upright.

"You need some food in your belly to soak up all of that scotch you downed on the plane. Yeah, there's nothing like a nice greasy plate of bacon and eggs to make you feel human again…Sheldon…Sheldon!" George started to steer his younger brother into the kitchen but found himself talking to thin air as Sheldon bolted for the bathroom and practically shoved Amy out of the way so that he could make his own sacrificial offering to the porcelain god.


	8. Chapter 8

Mary wrapped an arm across Amy's back to stabilise her as Sheldon stumbled into the bathroom and emptied his stomach contents into the toilet bowl.

"Come along, darlin'. You don't need to be seein' that first thing in the morning." Mary helped Amy to her feet and steered her toward the sink, where she filled a cup with mouthwash and urged her to rinse. "You think you can manage a slice or two of toast and maybe another cup of ginger tea?" Amy thought about it for a second before nodding as she bent down to spit out the mouthwash.

"I think I could go for some toast, I actually do feel quite hungry this morning. The nausea wasn't as bad as I expected and has completely passed now."

"I think that might have been something to do with my crazy son over there, rather than the munchkin." Mary jerked her thumb over to where Sheldon was leaning his forehead against the cold porcelain of the toilet rim. He looked over with a groan and attempted to speak.

"You're the one that had me tested, Mother."

"Yeah…and I knew I should have followed up with that fella in Houston…" Mary sighed as she turned her attention back to Amy. "You feel like gettin' dressed, or do you want to just take it easy for a while?"

"Dressed, I think." Amy decided, running her fingers along the edge of Sheldon's t-shirt. "I feel a little exposed now that George is here, and I expect Leonard, Raj and Howard will be over shortly to discuss the completion of my move…although I think that I will ask that they simply take everything back to Glendale for me."

"We'll talk about all that later, now you go on and get yourself dressed and I'll have your tea ready for when you come back." Mary gently hugged Amy close and left her brushing her teeth and trying hard not to stare at Sheldon's lean figure hugging the toilet. She finished rinsing her mouth out and patted her face dry with a hand towel. She nearly tripped over Sheldon's sprawled legs and only his lightning fast reflexes, despite his fragile state, prevented her from hitting the floor. Sheldon reached out his hands to keep her upright and they both gasped as one of his hand's inadvertently pressed against the slight swelling of her abdomen where his shirt had ridden up exposing her silky smooth skin.

Amy tore herself away and practically ran down the hallway to Sheldon's room, slamming the door shut behind her and collapsing on the bed, struggling for breath. Sheldon remained in the bathroom with his hand still outstretched, thoughts racing through his mind over what he'd just felt. His knees felt weak and unsteady and he could remain upright no longer.

"That's either one large alien parasite…or I'm really gonna be a daddy." He hadn't heard much of the conversation between his Mother and Meemaw after he'd hit the floor; the hours between overhearing the Skype session and arriving in Pasadena seemed to pass in a daze. It seemed now though, there was no turning back – Amy was pregnant and it was all his fault.

"Darned stupid hormones…" He muttered as he shook his head trying to rid himself of the memory of the way her skin felt under his fingertips; that slight bulge where it was stretching to accommodate their growing child… "Stop it!" He chastised himself and got to his feet again, for the first time noticing that he was in the same clothes that he had been wearing for nearly 48 hours straight. "Urghh…shower, change of clothes…and then some serious conversation." Sheldon sighed heavily as he leant over to flip the switch on the shower tab, he checked that there was clean towels on the rack but realised he had nothing to change into and that Amy was currently residing in his bedroom. He left the shower running and took the few steps down the hallway to reach his bedroom door.

Knock, knock, knock, "Amy." He repeated his thrice times ritual and stepped back slightly as Amy pulled the door open to reveal herself wearing loose grey yoga pants and another of his superhero t-shirts.

"Sheldon." Amy stepped back into his room to allow him entry and smoothed his shirt over her stomach. "Apologies for misappropriating yet another of your shirts, but it appears that I have surprisingly had a sudden growth spurt and my own clothes no longer feel comfortable. I will of course, launder and return your shirt as soon as I have obtained suitable clothing of my own." Sheldon's eyes followed Amy's hand as it continued to rub circles around her abdomen and he swallowed down the protest forming on his lips and nodded instead.

"I just need to grab a change of clothes…" Sheldon crossed over to his dresser and pulled open the top drawer expecting to see the neatly formed stacks of clean pants; instead he was confronted with piles of Amy's lacy under things. "Oh…well, they clearly aren't mine."

"Sorry, I forgot. Leonard moved all of your things into his room…Let me just take those from you and put them back in my suitcase." Amy flushed as she grabbed the underwear from the drawer and started shoving them in her open suitcase. When Sheldon had knocked, she had been busy repacking having already made the decision to move back over to her apartment in Glendale. Now that she was no longer in denial over her pregnancy, she felt better about trying to get her affairs back in order.

"You're leaving?" Sheldon looked over at her nearly full case and then back at Amy.

"I think that's best, don't you? It wasn't my decision to move in here you know, I just found myself swept along in the moment…I was just sitting at home and all of the sudden…everyone just started packing up my things…" Amy sat down heavily on the edge of Sheldon's bed and looked over with a sudden look of shock on her face, as if she were just coming to terms with everything that had happened to her over the last few days. "Before I even knew what was happening, I was being handed a picture of the baby…and then we were all sitting on the couch eating take out with Raj and Leonard pinning up a chart to track the baby's growth rate…Then your Mother arrived…Oh, God…" Amy started to cry and Sheldon crossed over to perch next to her on the bed. He reached over to gently pat her hand.

"There, there…I know, our friends can be a little overwhelming sometimes can't they? I bet they just run roughshod all over your objections and decided everything for you."

"Yeah, it was kind of sweet though…Raj and Howard cried…" Amy sniffled and reached over to the nightstand to grab a tissue out of the box. She dried her eyes and wiped her nose before glancing over at Sheldon. "I'm sorry for everything, Sheldon. I truly am, I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I know you didn't." Sheldon patted her hand again and rose up from the bed. "I'm going to try and find a set of clean clothes from Leonard's room and then I'm going to take a shower. Go and get your tea and try to relax a little, stress isn't good for a developing foetus."

"I know, that's what the doctor said yesterday…they were a little worried that I didn't seem to be gaining enough weight; that's when they performed an early scan to check that everything was developing normally."

"And is it?" Sheldon asked with a note of concern. Amy nodded and got to her feet, smoothing his covers beneath her hands before crossing over to the door.

"Take your shower and then I'll show you the picture…you can use Leonard's chart and see the results for yourself. Don't look so worried, Sheldon. I'm not going to pressure you into anything and despite what your Mother may think, I don't want to drag you to the nearest altar either. Go and take your shower." Amy left Sheldon thinking over her last words as she made her way into the living room for her tea…

"Huh…I guess I panicked over nothing…I thought she would be desperate to make things official between us. We should have had this talk a long time ago, maybe when Howard found me having a mini meltdown outside our room at the Bed and Breakfast." Sheldon wandered out of his room and made his way into Leonard's old bedroom where he found his clothes neatly stored away in cardboard packing boxes. He thought back over that night of intimacy and remembered how sure he felt that Amy would pressure him into marriage before he was ready, and that's why Howard found him hyperventilating in the hallway…Not because of what had taken place during the night, but because he was adamant that Amy would want more and more from him, strangely enough though; when they had got back to Pasadena Amy had seemed content with the slow pace of their date nights almost as if the night in Napa had never even happened…

"Oh, Dear Lord! The wine…It really was all my fault; I took advantage of her inebriated state and had my wicked way with her! She didn't remember it and that's why she was happy with us going back to the way we were…" Sheldon sat down heavily on the floor as the stark realisation crashed over him – it really was all on him, and now he'd ruined her life and quite possibly her career all because of that darned intoxicating taste of brownie pie on her lips…


	9. Chapter 9

It was a rather subdued Sheldon that emerged fully dressed from the bathroom twenty minutes later, he was completely sober after standing with his head under the cold spray for the first five minutes of his shower. He walked slowly down the hallway into the living room and hovered on the top step as he realised that Amy was now occupying his spot on the couch as she munched her way through several slices of toast drenched in honey.

"Ah…" He cleared his throat a little and Amy looked up briefly before turning her attention back to her breakfast and her conversation with Mary.

"This is so good Mary, it's the first breakfast that I've truly enjoyed in what seems like ages."

"That's good, dear. Make sure you eat it all and then I'll fetch you another cup of that ginger tea."

"Amy likes chamomile." Sheldon murmured without even thinking about it and Mary patted him on the shoulder as she passed by to go and ready the kettle.

"She may, but the Munchkin doesn't – we tried her on white ginger and it seems to sit with her a little better. You want something to eat, Shelly?"

"I'll have cereal." Sheldon responded eventually as he followed his mother into the kitchen and took a bowl out of the cupboard to pour himself a bowl. "What?" He noticed Mary staring at him and raised a quizzical brow.

"Well, it's the first time I've stayed over and you haven't wanted pancakes."

"I don't feel like today is a pancake day. Cereal will be fine." Sheldon took his bowl in hand and started to turn around before he remembered that Amy was still sitting in his preferred seat. He hesitated slightly before crossing over to perch on the edge of Leonard's armchair instead; keeping his eyes averted from Amy devouring her toast. He still felt incredibly guilty and didn't know how to begin to make things right. He opened his mouth to speak;

"Amy, I…"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"I…" Sheldon was just about to offer to take Amy shopping for anything she needed when the front door burst open to reveal Bernadette, Howard and Raj walking in laden with bags and boxes.

"Ta da!" Giggled Bernadette as she piled the bags onto the couch next to Amy and started pulling maternity outfits out one after the other. "Raj picked us up early and took us on a little shopping spree…we picked you up some really cute outfits, and I had to drag Howie out of the baby aisle before he cleaned the place out.

"Look, isn't this adorable?" Howard pulled out a miniature Yoda outfit from one of the bags, followed by a Superman onesie and then a tiny set of pyjamas with The Flash on the front. "I saw them and I couldn't resist picking up one or two…"

"One or two, Howard, there's practically a whole store in here!" Amy pulled the bag closer and saw that he had selected the same outfit in several different sizes. "What if it's a girl?"

"Don't worry, Amy; Uncle Raj has that covered." Raj stepped forward and pulled a couple of tiny pink and white outfits out of another bag. Each dress had a tiny ruffled petticoat and came with a dainty pair of white socks and headband to match.

"Oh, Raj,,,they're so…!" Amy choked up, her emotions rendering her unable to speak and rushed off down the corridor to hide in Sheldon's room. Sheldon looked over at his friends and set his bowl down with a heavy sigh.

"Happy now?" He spat out as he prepared to rise to his feet, only to be forced back into the chair by the firm pressure of Mary's hand on his shoulder.

"Settle down there, Shelly. She's alright, it's just the baby hormones taking over for a little while. Leave her be for a few minutes and she'll be right as rain."

"You sure, Mama?" Sheldon looked up, and Mary recognised the genuine concern in his blue eyes.

"Have I ever lied to you son? No. Take it from someone who's been there, five minutes and it will all be forgotten." Mary pat him on the shoulder once more and Sheldon eased back into the chair.

"I take it all of this is from you guys?" Sheldon waved his hand around the baby furniture in the living room and then down at the bags scattered on the floor.

"Yeah, I guess we just went a little baby crazy while we were waiting for Amy to be released from hospital." Howard looked around and missed the look of panic that spread across Sheldon's face. "Uh…I guess no one filled you in yet, did they?"

"Hospital? When? Why? How long for? Would somebody please fill me in?" Sheldon was almost hyperventilating and Bernadette picked up an empty paper sack from the floor and crouched down at Sheldon's feet, shooting her husband a narrow eyed look.

"There, Sheldon. That's it, breathe into the bag for me, nice and slow. Good." Sheldon started to calm down as Bernadette wrapped one arm across his back as the other helped him grip onto the paper bag as he breathed slowly into it. "Amy had to spend a night in the hospital under observation, we took her to the emergency room the day before yesterday as we were getting a little concerned for her. Sheldon, this baby was as much as a shock to her as it was to you. She only found out for certain a few days ago herself."

"How is that even possible? She must be at least…" Sheldon did a mental calculation in his head; "Sixteen weeks. Surely she must have had some idea…I mean her menses and all."

"Apparently she's been having very light periods since going onto the contraceptive pill; she hardly even missed them at all. She's only really been experiencing the sickness for the last few weeks and brushed it off as a stomach bug. She's been in denial, Sheldon, and it all became too much for her body to handle."

"What did the doctors have to say? Are they still concerned? Amy mentioned briefly that the baby is a little on the small side…"

"Here…" Bernadette pulled one of the spare pictures out of the wallet on the baby board and passed it across to Sheldon to look at. "The baby is around 10 centimetres in length and although it is a little on the small side, Michael seemed satisfied that everything was progressing nicely. He gave Amy a couple of treatments for the sudden onset nausea but said that it was just the baby's way of telling Amy that he or she couldn't be ignored any longer."  
>"Michael?" Sheldon asked distractedly, one lean finger tracing every detail of his baby's image.<p>

"Michael Bennett, he was the obstetrician on duty when we took Amy to the hospital. He was the one that let Amy have an early scan and gave us a whole bunch of extra pictures, nice guy; Amy invited him over to meet Raj, she thinks they will have a lot in common."

"Oh…" Sheldon was only half listening as he continued to stare at the black and white image on the paper in his hands.

"Sheldon, listen to me." Bernadette placed a small hand on his arm to garner his attention. He looked up to see her determined stare. "Amy is going to be just fine. She needs to make a few dietary and lifestyle changes, but she is going to get through this. Every one of us is going to be around to make certain of it."

"What kind of changes?"

"She needs to eat four small meals a day rather than three larger meals; she needs to rest for at least a fortnight. No heavy lifting, of course and no stress. She was trying to finish up her studies at the University, completely ignore the fact that she was pregnant and trying to get over you all at the same time; not a good way to start a healthy pregnancy, Sheldon."

"I don't know what I can do to help. I was going to offer to take her shopping for maternity wear this morning, but you beat me to it. I can't buy her baby furniture, because you beat me to that as well. I don't even get to pick out the cute superhero outfits because it seems Uncle Howard's got that one covered…It seems the only thing left for me to do is…" Sheldon stopped talking, aware that his voice had risen up and taken on a slightly bitter tone and he didn't want Amy to get upset. He rose up from the chair and carefully tucked the photo into his wallet before letting himself out of the apartment without saying another word.

"Oh, boy." Howard muttered as he plonked himself down in Sheldon's abandoned armchair. "I guess we didn't think this through carefully enough, what if he takes off again?"

"Shelly will be back, he just needs a little time to think that's all." Mary stated quietly as she walked over to start collecting up the clothing strewn across the couch. "Did y'all catch the resentment in his voice just now? He's just a little het up because he wanted to be the one that got to show Amy that he was thinking about her and the Munchkin."

"Oh….didn't think about that one." Howard started to play with the little Superman outfit, stroking the soft fabric between his fingers. "I just saw it and couldn't resist it."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Howard. Shelly will just have to think about some other way of letting Amy know that he cares…it's not always about the material things. He'll just have to be a little more creative."

Penny dragged Leonard out of their apartment by the cuff of his jacket and started talking excitedly as they started to descend the short flight of stairs leading down to the lobby.

"And she'll need a couple of sets of leggings, and some of those stretchy jersey tops.

"Ooh, maybe we can find some superhero onesies! That'll be great!"

"Don't bother." Sheldon's low tones stopped them in their tracks as they nearly fell over his legs stretched out across the stairs just on the bend between the fourth and third floor.

"Sheldon! Great to see you, buddy!" Leonard crouched down to greet friend and saw the way Sheldon quickly put the image of the scan back in his wallet and rubbed a hand over his eyes before he shifted his legs to one side to let them pass. "Er, I guess you know all about Amy, we're really happy for you guys."

"Yes, I know. Thank you, Leonard."

"We're off out to grab Amy a few maternity clothes; she was saying last night that some of her clothes are getting a little tight and we don't want baby Sheldon to get all squashed up in there."

"We are not calling the baby, Sheldon. And you're too late, hence my comment of 'don't bother'. It seems as we both woke up with the same idea although Raj and the Wolowitz's beat us all to it. They arrived at the crack of dawn with clothes for Amy as well as a number of superhero onesies and pyjamas as well as a few emergency outfits should the baby turn out to be a girl." Sheldon crossed his arms over his chest and tucked his arms under his armpits, huddling against the wall and turning his face away from Leonard.

"Aw. Nuts! I really wanted to be the cool Uncle!"

"Yeah, well; we don't always get what we want do we Leonard. It seems I can't even be the understanding ex-boyfriend that wanted to do something nice for the soon to be mother of his child…I didn't even get to pick out the crib or anything! Oh, drats…!" Sheldon scrubbed at his face with the back of his hands and found himself holding onto a bunch of tissues forced on him by a teary eyed Penny.

"Here you go, Sheldon."

"Thanks." He muttered as he blew his nose loudly. "I don't even know why I'm sitting out here blubbering like an idiot. I left there with the intent of going out to look for another apartment, Amy needs to feel comfortable and she doesn't need the stress of another move. I thought it best that she remain where she is and I would look for somewhere else."

"Sheldon, you would really do that for Amy? Move out of your apartment, the only place that you've felt secure in since you moved to California?" Penny sat down on the step above Sheldon and Leonard looking down on the two friends.

"As much as I hate the thought of change, after all that is one of the reasons I left in the first place; yes, I would do that for Amy and my child." Sheldon wiped his eyes again and shoved the dirty tissues into his pocket. He patted his other pocket to make sure that his wallet was still there and prepared to get up. It was only then that he realised another person had overheard their conversation.

"Sheldon, that's the nicest thing you could have ever said to me." Amy stated quietly as she walked down the few stairs leading to the small landing. She sat down next to Penny on the stairs above the two men and felt Penny give her a gentle squeeze.

"Which part?" Sheldon rubbed his hand over the pocket containing his wallet and gave Amy the smallest of glances.

"All of it…how you wanted to buy me some properly fitted clothes, how you wished you were the one buying the cool outfits, how you would even be prepared to give up your whole carefully organised world in order for me to feel comfortable."

"Oh." Sheldon continued rubbing his wallet as if seeking comfort from that tiny image.

"I don't want you to change your life for me, Sheldon; I told you last night that I don't expect anything from you and I meant it."

"Amy, how can you say that when we both know that this whole situation is my fault?" Sheldon cried out and Amy looked at him in surprise.

"Sheldon, how is this your fault? It's nobody's fault, I just happen to be one of those women with a higher chance of the pill failing as a contraceptive; no one could have predicted it was likely to happen – it just did."

"I took advantage of you whilst you were inebriated."

"Sheldon! One glass of wine at dinner did not make me inebriated…I knew exactly what I was doing and I don't regret it."

"You don't?" Sheldon whispered in almost disbelief, his head turning so that he could look her fully in the eye. They were so involved in their conversation that they didn't even notice Penny and Leonard slipping back upstairs to their apartment. Amy smiled slowly as her hand slipped down to cradle her slightly swollen abdomen.

"No, it was one of the best nights of my life – and it gave me this."

"I've been feeling so guilty." Sheldon said as he turned to lay his legs across the stairs again. "I tried to keep away from you, certain that you would hate me for what we did. I felt too much all at once, and I had to just get away…"

"You left because we slept together?"

"I don't remember a lot of sleepin' goin' on in that room…" Sheldon remarked a little drolly, and Amy blushed scarlet as she leant down to slap at his arm.

"Sheldon!"

"What? I'm just sayin' it like it was…"

"Are you really okay with this?" Amy gestured to her stomach and Sheldon's hand twitched a little before he slowly brought it up to hover a few inches away from her stomach. Their eyes met and his silently asked for permission, when he saw the acceptance in her eyes, he lowered his hand so that it curved lightly above his sleeping child.

"It nearly broke me when you sent me that signed termination form. I ran straight to my Meemaw's house and didn't come out of my room for days." Sheldon admitted quietly as his hand rested flat on her stomach. "I couldn't even tell her why I was cryin', but she just let me be alone…I didn't want to be alone, Amy…I wanted so much to pick up the phone and call you, but I just couldn't bear to see the accusation or shame in your eyes. So I just pretended to ignore it…I couldn't bring myself to acknowledge it, so I didn't even sign my copy."

"Oh, Sheldon." Amy sighed as her hand slid across to rest over his so that they both cradled their child. "You should have just picked up the phone; we've both wasted so much time because we couldn't just talk to each other. Heck, you could've even sent me an old fashioned letter and I'd have been on the next plane out."

"You'd have come to Texas if I would have asked?"

"Sheldon, I would've gone anywhere with you, don't you know that?"

"I guess I did, I think that's one of the reasons that I put off telling you until my train had pulled out. If I had told you face to face, either I would've backed out of going at all or I would have been begging you to come along with me. I needed the time alone to work everything else out that was going on but it cost me you, and for that I am truly sorry."

"If you had asked me, I would have gone." Amy snapped her fingers, "Just like that, Sheldon. Maybe we needed this time apart to work out exactly what we did need."

"And what is that, exactly?"

"Us, Sheldon. We can function as single units, but like symbiotic creatures we work better as a pair." Amy replied quietly as her slender fingers twined around Sheldon's own lean digits as they rested on her stomach.

"Symbiosis…I think I can relate to that. So, what do we do now? I don't want things to go back to the way they were before I left; I hated feeling so distant and cut off from you, but at the same time, I don't think I'm quite ready for a repeat of what happened that night either."

"We reboot to where we felt most comfortable with each other, that one perfect moment after Valentine's Day dinner; before our endocrine systems did a whack job on the both of us."

"I can work with that, if you can." Sheldon lifted his head to look deeply into Amy's emerald gaze, she nodded slowly as Sheldon's face drew closer and closer, until their lips brushed lightly together in a soft whisper of a kiss.

"That was nice." Amy whispered as he drew his mouth away slowly, to brush gentle string of kisses along her cheek before moving away completely.

"Good." Sheldon replied huskily as he rose to his feet, gently tugging on her hand to bring her up with him. Keeping their hands firmly clasped together and his other arm stretched across her back, Sheldon steered Amy back up the stairs towards the fourth floor. "Amy…"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"I really don't want to move out of my apartment."

"I know…you don't have to. I'll move into Leonard's room and you can have your room back. We'll just be roommates, and I'll even let you draw up a new agreement; just until the baby arrives and then we'll re-evaluate."

"Will you be my girlfriend, Amy Farrah Fowler?" Sheldon paused outside of his – their- apartment door and looked down at her glistening eyes. She nodded and Sheldon raised their clasped hands to press a kiss against her palm. "Then, welcome home." He turned the doorknob and held the door open for her to enter.


	10. Chapter 10

The whole gang looked up as the door opened and Sheldon steered Amy inside. Mary had tears in her eyes at the way Sheldon had one hand tenderly pressed in the small of Amy's back and the other cupping Amy's hand as it rested protectively over her abdomen. He led her straight to his spot on the couch and sat himself on the floor at her feet, curling his long legs under his body.

"Everything okay, Shelly?" Mary asked quietly from where she was sitting on the rocker, somehow she had miraculously produced a set of knitting needles and some baby soft wool and was knitting away at a tiny set of booties.

"Everything's fine Mama." Sheldon murmured in return reaching up to his shoulder where Amy's hand was resting lightly. He looked around the living room but failed to see his brother. "Where's George?"

"He's taking a nap in the spare room, you didn't get here until nearly three and he was up at six yesterday morning." Mary barely even looked up from her knitting as she answered Sheldon's question, only glancing up when she heard Amy's soft and wistful sigh. "Do you want to feel?" Mary held out the half completed bootie and Amy ran her fingers over the delicate item.

"Look Sheldon, isn't it just lovely?" Amy passed the bootie over to Sheldon who touched it very lightly, as if he were afraid it would disappear. He placed it over her abdomen and their eyes met, each hardly believing that in a few short months their baby would be wearing that very small piece of clothing.

"Yes, very lovely." Sheldon eventually replied, his voice husky with everything he was feeling. He passed the knitting back to his mother before rising to his feet and excusing himself to walk away quickly. Amy got up as well and hurried after him; she found him sitting on the floor in his bedroom just in front of the pine crib. He was holding on to one of the slats and crying quietly.

"Sheldon!" Amy crouched down at his side, and he blindly reached out to grasp one of her hands, letting go of the crib and burying his face against her shoulder. Amy ran her hand soothingly up and down his back and just let him cry it all out. When he was calm again, she handed him a tissue and they just sat quietly together staring at the crib.

"I'm gonna be a Daddy…" Sheldon whispered softly as his slender fingers ran over the smooth uprights of the crib.

"Yeah…how do you feel about that?" Amy asked just as softly, as his hand clenched around hers as he brought it up to his lips to press a tender kiss against her knuckles.

"It just suddenly hit me…I'm really gonna be a Daddy and I'm okay with that. It wasn't anything I'd even remotely considered as a possibility; I know we discussed gifting humanity with our DNA when we first met but this is different." Sheldon pressed a hand lightly over his child resting peacefully in Amy's womb and cleared his throat in order to continue. "Hi baby, this is your Daddy speaking and I just want you to know that I can't wait to meet you. I don't think I'm going to be very good at all this parenting stuff for a little while so I hope that you'll be patient with me until I get the hang of it. I love you, baby Cooper."

"The baby already loves their Daddy very much…so does their Mama." Amy whispered huskily, her throat clogging with tears. Sheldon kept his hand in place and turned his head to look into his girlfriend's liquid filled emerald eyes where they were shining with unshed tears.

"You do? You've never really said it before."

"I do, I love you Sheldon Lee Cooper and I love our baby very much."

"I love you too, Amy…so much that it scares me a little. I never thought that I was capable of caring more about another person than I did for myself, but I do. I will do everything in my power to make sure the two of you are happy and safe." Sheldon wiped his thumb under Amy's eyes, drying the few tears that had escaped during his confession. Amy smiled softly and nestled against his side, as they clasped hands.

"I did tell you once before you know." Amy said lightly and Sheldon looked over in astonishment.

"I think I might have remembered if you had, eidetic memory." Sheldon tapped the side of his temple and then tapped the tip of Amy's nose that wrinkled under his finger as she grinned up at him.

"I think you were yelling so loudly at the time that you didn't hear me properly." Amy winked over at Sheldon, who blushed furiously at her comment. "Yeah, I think it got lost in the way you were saying your nightly prayers, and there was me thinking that you didn't believe in God."

"Oh God…" Sheldon muttered into his hands and Amy patted his shoulder.

"Yup, that's exactly what you said…only it was a few decibels louder at the time. I was amazed that no one complained about the noise, I felt sure we'd have people knocking at the door asking us to keep it down…especially after the second time."

"Dear Lord woman! Could you stop for a minute? We agreed to reset to the dinner and you're not making things very easy for me!" Sheldon groaned loudly as his body remembered that second time very well indeed, he shifted uncomfortably on the hard wooden floor trying to relieve the sudden pressure in his groin. Amy rubbed small circles along Sheldon's back as she tried to calm him down. "Not helping, you vixen…maybe if you just left me alone for a few minutes? I can't calm down all the time I feel you touching me, even the most innocent of caresses. Why do you think I was so reluctant to kiss you or hug you on our Date nights?"

"Really Sheldon? Every time?" Amy was startled at Sheldon's revelation, she hadn't realised that she had affected him that badly.

"Pretty much, it got to the point where you only had to walk in the room and pop! I had to invent some pretty fast excuses to get out of there until it calmed down." Sheldon had his eyes closed as he attempted to master his hormones, but he could still smell the light fragrance of her shampoo and it teased at his senses. "Amy, I'm begging you…please just step back into the living room for a few minutes and I'll be along shortly."

"Okay, Shelly…" Amy brushed a light kiss over Sheldon's forehead and he fought hard against the urge to drag her down next to him on the floor and have his way with her. He let her get all the way to the door before he lept up and flung his hand against the frame caging her in and preventing her from opening it.

"Oh darlin'…you just had to kiss me didn't you?" Sheldon murmured huskily, and Amy didn't know whether he was referring to the light brush of her lips a few seconds ago or the countless other times before. "I was doin' fine until then, now you're just gonna have to put up with the consequences…" Sheldon's cheeks were flushed and his chest was heaving with every breath. Amy looked into his eyes and saw that his pupil had expanded until there was only the thinnest rim of blue to be seen. She gulped hard as her hands fluttered at her side before reaching up to grab handfuls of his shirt to keep her from toppling over. Sheldon swooped down to capture her lips in a lush open mouthed kiss. His tongue immediately sought entrance and dived in as Amy granted permission. Their tongues duelled for supremacy as one of Sheldon's hands grasped Amy's hip firmly; pulling her against the hard, pulsing evidence of his desire and she groaned into his mouth. He rocked slightly forward and his hand slid down to slip underneath the hem of his Avengers shirt, trailing up over her side and skimming lightly over her ribs until he was cupping her full breast in his palm.

"Oh Dear Lord! You've been sitting there the whole time without a bra on...You really are a vixen, Doctor Fowler. Oh yeah, it feels so good, and a little fuller than before, I like it." Sheldon murmured against her lips as his hand massaged circles against the fullness of her breast, rubbing her engorged nipple against his palm, his hips thrusting forward in rhythm with his massaging. "You know I read somewhere that pregnant women that have an intense orgasm can sometimes spontaneously start lactating…I wonder whether that's true?"

"You keep doing that and I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." Amy gasped as Sheldon thrust forward with his hips at the same time as pinching her nipple lightly between his fingers. "Yes…right there…oh…" Amy grabbed onto Sheldon's hips and pulled him forward, pressing him urgently against her heated core. His left hand reached down to hitch her leg over his thigh and started to rock more urgently against her.

"We have…to…stop…" He groaned out between thrusts, his hand taking up its massaging motions again on her breast as his breath began to labour in his chest. "The mess…I can't…Oh Dear Lord…that feels amazing…" Sheldon panted as he felt Amy's small hand slip into the gap of his pants and then slide under the waistband of his briefs to cup his bare buttock, pressing him harder against her. He captured her mouth in another firm kiss, his tongue echoing what his aching body was desperate to do; thrust…retreat…thrust…retreat. Sheldon slid his hand away from Amy's breast, ignoring her murmur of protest as he slipped his hands under her knees and brought both of her legs up around his waist. His hand slid down between them, fumbling with the fastening on his pants and tugging her leggings and panties out of the way, Sheldon's fingers flicked against her small, swollen bud of desire before one long digit slid inside to test her readiness.

"You're so wet…" He hissed as he felt her liquid heat drench his finger, he couldn't resist sliding another in to tease her clit, curling his fingers slightly to brush them over her bundle of nerves. Amy bucked against his fingers, forcing them deeper inside her and Sheldon smirked a little at the force of her actions.

"Don't stop…right there…please." Amy pleaded softly and it was Sheldon's turn to groan as he felt his erection growing painfully hard. He slid his fingers free very slowly, twisting them slightly as he withdrew and Amy's murmur of disapproval turned into a hiss of surprised delight as she watched him slowly run his tongue over his fingers, lapping up her musky scent and humming under his breath.

"Better than Strawberry Quik…" He smirked as his hands rose up slightly to take a firm grip on her hips. "Hold onto your hat little lady…" He warned huskily as he thrust upward slightly and with one smooth motion, slid home. Sheldon groaned as he felt Amy's heat surround him and another thrust sent the door shuddering against the frame. "Too noisy…" He hissed as he slammed one hand against the door, while the other held Amy's legs wrapped around his waist.

"More…" Amy pleaded, her head flung back as she clung on as Sheldon continued to thrust urgently.

"The baby…don't want to hurt…oh God!" Sheldon's fingers were white with tension as he couldn't help his body from pounding into her, making the door shudder loudly. He finally managed to wrestle control over his wayward body and forced himself to withdraw. Sheldon turned them around and carried Amy over to his bed. He set her down gently and followed her down, pressed her back into the mattress.

"Dear Lord!" Sheldon groaned as he struggled to keep them from immediately resuming his thrusts, wanting to rid them both of their twisted clothing. His pants were tangled with his shoes around his ankles and Amy giggled at his disgruntled expression as he fought to free himself. Her giggles turned to quiet moans as Sheldon finally managed to release himself from his trousers and then quickly tore off his t-shirts bearing his entire body to her heated gaze. He ran his palms down to the hem of Amy's shirt and then whipped it over her head, it was his turn to groan then as he saw for the first time the changes pregnancy had wrought on her once slim frame.

"I was right, they are a little fuller than they were before…" Sheldon murmured as his fingers skimmed lightly under her breasts, testing their weight in his palms. He scooted a little lower on the bed until his face was level with her abdomen and lightly pressed a kiss against the soft swelling that housed their sleeping child. "Now, where were we?" He mused as he grinned wickedly up into Amy's flushed face. "Oh yeah…your hands were here, I think." Sheldon pulled Amy's hands around to cup his buttocks and hissed as her fingers gently massaged, feeling his muscles clench under her soft caress. "Vixen!" He groaned out tightly, as his hips flexed forward instinctively, causing his hardness to rub against her femininity, drenching him in her juices.

"Have you forgotten where your hands were, Sheldon? Or do you need a little reminder?"

"Oh darlin'…I can think of something far better…" Sheldon smirked a little as he bent his head slowly, brushing a teasing kiss against her lips and then moving lower and lower, dropping kisses along her jaw, nibbling the side of her neck until he reached his final destination.

"Oh…yeah…right there…just a little harder…" Amy groaned quietly as she felt Sheldon's hot breath against her breast and then caught her breath as he flicked his tongue over her nipple before drawing her breast into his mouth to suckle strongly. Her hands clenched around his buttocks and without warning he bucked into her hips, sliding his full length into her heated core. "YES!" Amy shouted and Sheldon began to move, thrusting his hips in time with his suckling. His movements began to speed up and he was soon pounding into her again, making the headboard slam against the wall with the intensity of his thrusts. He tore his mouth away from Amy's breast so that he could look into her eyes.

"I…love…you…" He panted out as Amy's legs wrapped around his waist, her ankles locking behind his hips to force him deeper inside her. He was on the edge of exploding but from the look in Amy's eyes she wasn't as close as he was. Sheldon slipped one hand down in between them and started rubbing firm circles against her clit, knowing from the wild look in Amy's eyes that it was just what she needed. Sheldon felt a warning tingle in the base of his spine and his buttocks clenched as he gave himself over to ecstasy, sending hot jets of liquid deep inside Amy. She wasn't far behind and Sheldon felt her muscles clamp around him as Amy let herself go. Her orgasm set him off again, and Sheldon's hips jerked as her inner walls milked him out of every last drop. He finally stopped moving and after carefully withdrawing, rolled off Amy, tucking her close against his side until they were spooning on the bed.

"So much for our reset." Amy murmured tiredly, as she pulled Sheldon's arm around her waist. He immediately curved his hand around her breast and nuzzled into her shoulder.

"Hmm…do you mind?"

"Are you kidding? That was even better than Napa…far more intense."

"That's because we did it out of love. I only hope we weren't too loud…"

"Oh God! We just left everyone in the living room!" Amy sat bolt upright in bed, the covers pooling around her waist. Sheldon admired the view for a second before tugging her back down to the mattress.

"I'm sure we weren't as loud as Napa…besides Mama would have booted them all over to Penny's if she thought I was that upset…I did run off rather quickly." Sheldon resumed his earlier position of nuzzling against Amy's shoulder and cupping her breast.

"I would never have taken you for a breast man, Sheldon."

"Hmm?" Sheldon was only half listening as he was more interested in taking a quick nap. "Oh…sorry…" He started to withdraw his hand, only for Amy to bring it back to her breast.

"I didn't say I minded…if you feel the need to move it a little further south though, I wouldn't complain."

"My, my…aren't we the feisty one today?" Sheldon grinned over at Amy's smug expression. "I seem to recall that you 'weren't a fan' of that particular element at our stay at Napa."

"Well, I was a little sore after the first time so it was a little too sensitive. Just now though, all I can say is top marks for being a quick study, Doctor Cooper!"

"You know I love it when you call me that…and for the record, 'not a fan' doesn't mean the same thing for me as it does for you. All those times you proposed changes to our level of intimacy and I said 'not a fan'; it didn't mean that I didn't like it, just that it would take a little getting used to." Sheldon kissed Amy's bare shoulder and she glanced over at him with a wink.

"I knew exactly what it meant, Sheldon, otherwise I wouldn't have kept pushing for more. I knew you'd eventually give in; after all what hot blooded man could resist this beckoning pelvis?" Amy ran her hand over her bare hip and flashed him a quick look before pulling the covers up to her waist. She collapsed in giggles as Sheldon pounced, flipping her over to her back and pulling the covers away.

"Beckoning pelvis, firm full breasts, those little curls leading to temptation…yeah, you've got my attention all right."

"Hmm…I can see that…" Amy teased as her eyes drifted down to where Sheldon was at full attention once more. "Nice recovery time, Doctor Cooper."

"Thank you, darlin'…we aim to please." Sheldon smirked down at her, although he was fully erect he was in no desperate hurry to move things along.

"Oh you do that alright." Amy smirked back, her fingers bumping along his ribs and trailing through the rough hairs on his groin, skimming lightly along his length before drifting away. Sheldon groaned lightly and missed her light touch already.

"Amy…" He pleaded softly and Amy brought her small hand back around to squeeze him gently. "Ah…that's it." Sheldon groaned as Amy slid her hand down, rubbing her thumb over his tip and spreading the droplet of moisture along his length. Sheldon wrapped his own hand over hers and tightened her grip slightly. "A little harder, ah! Maybe a little tug…Oh yeah, that's it…come on…" Amy began to pump harder, pulling slightly when she reached his tip and Sheldon began to flex his hips in time with her motions. "I'm gonna…oh baby…" Sheldon tore Amy's hand away as he felt himself building up to explode, he had no intention of releasing himself unless he was buried balls deep within her hot core. Amy saw the look of almost agony on his face and lay back on the mattress, parting her legs slightly. Sheldon shook his head slightly and then turned Amy onto her slide so that he could slide home from behind. He raised her hip gently hooking it over his as he gently but firmly pressed inside.

"Oh God…that feels so good…so intense..." Amy gasped as she felt his heated length press insistently against her tiny bundle of nerves.

"Yeah, don't know how long I can…oh baby…" Sheldon groaned as his body started taking over his thoughts, thrusting harder and deeper than he'd ever done before. "Sorry, I can't…Oh GOD!" Sheldon jerked once, twice and then a third time as he felt Amy clamp down around him and they climaxed hard together. Sheldon slumped against Amy's warm back and within moments he was snoring lightly with a slightly smug smile on his face.


	11. Chapter 11

Amy lay on her side watching Sheldon sleep for a few minutes before extracting herself from his firm embrace and although he twitched a little in his sleep he soon buried his head beneath the pillows again and snored on. Amy pulled on Sheldon's robe and gathered her clothing in her arms; she snuck down the hallway and let herself silently into the bathroom to wash up from their activities.

Once she was dressed she walked casually into the living room as if unaware of the amount of time that had passed. To her surprise only Mary was in the apartment, rocking gently in the chair as she continued to knit.

"Hey sugar, is Shelly alright now?" Mary set her knitting aside and got up to put the kettle on. Amy slid onto a stool at the counter and propped her chin in her hands.

"Uh-huh…he was a little overwhelmed by everything at first but he said it was because he never saw himself as Daddy material, he cried a little and then told the baby that he couldn't wait to meet him or her. He's exhausted and I left him sleeping…he's got his head under the pillow and he snuffles like a little baby."

"That's my Shelly for you, he's either flat on his back looking like Dracula in his coffin, or when he's really pooped he sleeps on his tummy with his head under the pillow and his bottom in the air." Mary slid a mug of tea over the counter. "Everything okay with the two of you now?"

"I think so," Amy flushed a little, a fact that did not escape Mary's attention, but she choose not to say anything about the yells she heard coming from the hallway earlier.

"That's good…everyone had something to do this afternoon but they're gonna come back for dinner. Feel up to helping me make fried chicken and biscuits?"

"I feel okay at the moment, so sure." Amy finished her ginger tea and hopped down from the stool, only to feel a pair of hands grasping her by the waist.

"Steady little Mama…we don't want you trippin' over and spillin' out the munchkin." George's soft drawl had Amy smiling over her shoulder in thanks.

"I can't believe how different you look from Sheldon…if I had met you in the street I would never have taken you for brothers."

"He gets that from me…Shelly and Missy take after their Daddy's side of the family; tall with blue eyes and a fair complexion. George got my height and disposition." Mary shared a smile with her first born son and he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Let's not forget her good looks and the all-important ability to eat everything in sight without gaining an ounce." George patted his flat stomach and grinned over at Amy.

"I hope the baby inherits that from Sheldon and not my ability to gain pounds just from looking at a doughnut!"

"Oh darlin', you're fine just the way you are." George winked over at his mother and then smirked a little at Amy. "You just let me know if Shelly starts treatin' you poorly and I'll come and rescue you. I'll be your Texan Knight in rusting armour and you can be my California princess."

"Thanks George, I'll bear that in mind." Amy said drolly as she walked over to wash her hands at the sink.

"Hey! I'm a good catch…tell her Mama!" George protested at Amy's lack of interest, a little hurt that she didn't appear at all interested in the catch of East Texas.

"Sugar, Amy's not interested in whether you scored the winning touchdown in your senior year." Mary chided her son gently and then they all turned around as Sheldon's quiet rumble came from the living room.

"Lord, not the touchdown story again. George, you'd better not be trying to steal my girl away with stories of your misspent youth."

"Not a chance, Sheldon." Amy promised as Sheldon drew her against his side and pressed a soft kiss to her hair. His hand rubbed against her gently swell and he bent down to whisper in her ear.

"I woke up and you were gone, I missed you. Are you okay? We didn't hurt the baby or anything?"

"No, Shelly we're both fine, better than fine actually." Amy murmured back, as she reached up to brush his hair back from his forehead. Sheldon nodded and smiled gently down at her.

"Good, sorry I fell asleep." He looked up and addressed his remark to his mother as well as Amy. Mary crossed over to hug him and leant back in the circle of his arms, noting the faint shadows under his eyes.

"Snickerdoodle, you've had a tough couple of days – you both have, why don't you sit yourself down on the couch and put one of your movies on? It's just the four of us at the moment and George can give me a hand with dinner, ain't that right George?" Mary narrowed her eyes at George and he immediately pasted on a smile.

"Sure, I can peel a potato or two."

"Are you sure, Mary? It sounds like a lot of hard work, I don't mind giving you a hand." Amy was torn between snuggling up to Sheldon and helping Mary with the dinner preparations. Mary just smiled and shooed them both out of the kitchen area.

"Sugar, I am more than sure. You two just get comfortable on the couch and start thinking up proper names for the munchkin while you watch one of Sheldon's sciency things. George will give me a hand and if I need anything else, I'll send him across the hall to fetch Penny."

"Hmm, make that Leonard, Mary. Penny could burn water and you don't want her near your fried chicken." Amy said with a grin and Mary nodded.

"Thanks darlin', I'll bear that in mind. Go on, shoo!" Sheldon led Amy over to the couch and settled her against the arm in his spot, popped in a DVD and then slipped behind her, curling up around her spine as they lay quietly watching the TV. Mary glanced over a short while later and saw they had both fallen asleep. She nudged George and he looked over to the couch, wrapping his arm around his mother's waist as she sniffed back a tear.

"Aw…don't they look sweet?" Mary sighed as she watched the tender way Sheldon held their clasped hands over Amy's tummy, it seemed to be his new favourite place on Amy's body and Mary had noticed how often his hands or eyes were drawn to the same place.

"Yeah…who'd have thought it?" George squeezed his mother's waist and pressed a kiss against her cheek, before turning back to the potatoes he was peeling. "How many are we cooking for again?"

"Well there's you, me, Amy, Sheldon, Leonard and Penny, Howard and Bernadette, Raj…oh, Mike, Missy, Meemaw and someone called Stuart as well." Mary ticked the names off her fingers and looked around living room. "Lord only knows where everyone is gonna sit though."

"We're gonna need more 'taters, Mama…" George set down the peeler and grabbed his jacket from where it was flung over the back of the wooden desk chair. He checked his back pocket to make sure his wallet was in place. "I'll knock across the hall and ask Leonard to take me to the market. Anything else we need?"

"See if they've got anything to make a couple of pies with, just remember that Shelly's not too fond of apple but he's partial to peach, pecan or pumpkin."

"What about the crust? Maybe you could do peach cobbler instead? That might be easier when you're trying to feed thirteen people. I'll see what they have and pick up a couple of tubs of ice cream to go with it."

"Make one of those dairy free, Shelly mentioned something about Leonard being lactose intolerant. Get Leonard to pick something out he likes."

"Okay, Mama. See you soon." George dropped a kiss on Mary's cheek and she soon heard him banging on Penny's front door calling out for Leonard. Mary smiled as she closed Sheldon's apartment door and crossed back over to finish preparing the chicken. She slid the pan of meat into the bottom of the fridge to soak up the seasoning and then walked back over to pick up her knitting once again. She'd finished the booties earlier and set them on top of the pile of clothes in the Moses basket and was now working on a tiny hat to match. Mary set the rocker in motion as her needles clicked together, humming softly under her breath.

Amy opened her eyes slowly and lay there watching Mary serenely knitting away with a far- away expression on her face. "You remind me of my Aunt Flora a little, she would have been knitting up a storm by now as well."

"Do you knit at all sugar?" Mary asked, not letting her needles slowdown in their movements.

"No, I crochet and quilt but not knit. Ooh…I'm thinking of making a quilt out of all those cute little outfits as soon as the baby grows up a size. I've seen some people bronzing their first little shoes but I'd like to make something that the baby can keep as a memento."

"That's sounds lovely, Amy. I'm a bit of a quilter myself, as is Meemaw; we'd love to help with that…you could send us a parcel of clothes and we could put on the backing and make the squares up for you so that all you'd need to do is add the embellishments and sew them together. Missy's got one of those new-fangled machines that can embroider words on practically anything – once you've had the baby she can add the date, weight and name onto his first outfit."

"Oh Mary, that would be lovely! I'm not very good at embroidering by hand and was thinking about sending something out to a seamstress but it would make it all the more personal if the whole family had a hand in it." Amy felt tears threatening again and Mary sniffed lightly as well, rubbing her nose with a tissue.

"Look at us, clucking over something that we haven't even started on yet!"

"Mama, Amy? Everything okay?" Sheldon asked sleepily, opening his eyes to see his girlfriend and mother wiping their eyes.

"Sure, baby, we're just talking over what we're gonna do for the munchkin."

"Hmm?" Sheldon murmured as he scrubbed at his eyes with his fist and yawning widely. He shifted on the couch so that he was sitting in the middle cushion, letting Amy settle back against the end. Amy immediately wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled into his side.

"We're going to keep the baby's first outfits and piece them into a quilt. Mary said that Missy could embroider the date of birth and name on his very first piece of clothing and we're gonna trade parcels until we have enough to make a quilt."

"Sounds nice, darlin'…you gonna keep the logos intact though aren't you?" Sheldon rubbed his chin over the crown of Amy's head and watched his mother's needles clicking together. It reminded him of rainy afternoons of his childhood, Meemaw and Mary either sitting knitting together or working on piecing another quilt together.

"Of course, everything that has a logo or a cute little animal we'll keep as whole as possible." Amy reached over to pull a pile of the smallest sizes onto her lap, smoothing her hand over each of them in turn. Sheldon twisted slightly so that he could grab another handful, spreading them over their laps so that they could look at them together.

"Aw…it's a little monkey outfit!" Sheldon cooed at the tiny onesie and held it over Amy's tummy. "This one definitely has to go in the quilt. Ooh, and this one too!" He pulled out a cream onesie with a sleeping koala stitched on the front.

"I like the superhero ones…we've got a tiny Flash, superman…oh, baby Batman!" Amy held up one of the smallest onesies in the pile, depicting a baby Batman – cowl and cape in place, but wearing a tiny diaper.

"Adorable…" Sheldon traced one lean finger over the delicate stitching and smiled goofily. "Our baby is gonna be the cutest on the planet." They carried on cooing over the rest of the outfits, deciding which ones they both wanted in the quilt and setting a few of the more gaudy outfits to one side. They were quibbling over a Green Lantern outfit when Penny poked her head around the door.

"What's up, rubber duck?" Penny waved a tiny rubber duck around the door and made it quack when she squeezed the body. "I thought it could keep your adhesive ducks company. What are you up to?" Penny walked over to the couch and saw Amy practically buried under the mound of baby clothes.

"Don't mind them, sugar. Sheldon's just being awkward about one of the outfits, that's all."

"Mama, it's not the outfit exactly…it's just that I don't want my baby wearing Ryan Reynold's face!" Sheldon grimaced slightly as he held the outfit up for inspection. Rather than just being the Green Lantern logo that Sheldon had on the front of the shirt he was wearing that day, it was a picture depicting the actor that played the character in the latest movie.

"Hmm…I see your point, very well – discard pile." Amy waved her hand over at the smaller pile on the end of the couch. "We're keeping those ones for emergency use; I think I see Raj's influence on the leopard print ones and the dazzling multi stripe ones."

"Mmm…not his best choice." Penny agreed as she poked through the discards and wrinkled her nose up at a particular vibrant one in fluorescent yellow. "Maybe we can use this one as a duster or something?"

"I was thinking of just losing it in a charity bin or donating it to the children's hospital back home." Mary mused and soon found herself with a lap full of unwanted baby clothes. "Okay, then…I'll just go and slip these in my bag before the others get back." Mary set her knitting aside and gathered up the clothing before walking down the hall toward Leonard's room. Penny slipped into the rocking chair and sighed as she set the chair in motion.

"Oh, this is nice…" She rocked gently and picked up on of the frilly outfits that Raj had selected on the off chance that the baby would turn out to be a girl. "Are you going to ask the sex on your next scan or do you want it to be a surprise?"

Sheldon looked over at Amy to gauge her reaction before he picked up a slightly larger onesie with Spiderman on the front and ran his hand gently over the sleeve. "I'd like to know so that we can prepare properly, but it's Amy's decision in the end. If she doesn't want to know then we won't ask."

"Ames?" Penny glanced at Amy and noticed that her friend's eyes were focused on Sheldon's lean fingers stroking the soft sleeve of the small blue outfit. "Amy?"

"Hmm…oh, I think I'd like to know as well. I don't mind whether it's a boy or a girl but I do seem to have a vision of a little boy with big blue eyes…" Amy sighed softly as she leant her head against Sheldon's shoulder and he smiled down at her.

"I must admit I'd love a little boy…but I'd be just as happy with a little girl with eyes that shine like her Mama's…"

"Ooh that's so sweet…" Penny blubbered as she hugged the frilly outfit to her chest and sniffed back her tears. "Darn it…those damned shared hormones are ravaging me…I blame you entirely Sheldon, I had Bernadette crying on my shoulder this morning as well; none of this would have happened if you hadn't have met Amy."

"Yes, but then we wouldn't be sitting here crying over baby clothes either." Sheldon passed Penny a tissue and she scrubbed her face clean.

"True." She nodded and carefully placed the outfit back in the basket. "Oh…look aren't these just darling!" Penny picked up the pair of finished booties and waved them over at Sheldon.

"Mama finished them this morning, she's working on a hat at the moment and then she, Meemaw, Missy and Amy will be working on a quilt for the baby. That's why we were sorting through the outfits, trying to decide which ones we wanted included." Sheldon began folding up the little outfits, placing them carefully on the empty cushion at the far end of the couch. "We need to get a chest of drawers to match the other furniture so that they stay in perfect order. They will need washing first and softening up a little. I'll have to remember to pick up some hand washing liquid. "

"Howard picked out the furniture, I'll ask him to send you the details if you want to get something that matches." Penny fired off a quick text to Howard to ask him to bring the details with him and then her phone vibrate with a responding text. "He said not to worry, Stuart and Debbie wanted to get you something and they're on their way to collect it now. Howard and Stuart, I mean not Debbie…she's in Reno visiting her sister but sounded really excited for the both of you; she wants to throw you a baby shower when you're feeling up to it."

"Baby shower? I don't really need one of those…everyone has been so kind already and we can't ask you for anything more."

"You need a shower, sugar; every woman should experience it at least once. Leave Debbie's number with me, Penny, and I'll get everything in place before we return back home." Mary passed her phone over to Penny who entered Debbie Wolowitz's number into her contact list. Penny had just handed it back when Bernadette opened the front door and held it open for Howard and Stuart to wrestle in the drawer unit through the narrow opening.

"Wow that was fast!" Penny exclaimed from the chair, and Bernadette gave Sheldon a sheepish grin.

"Well, we were kinda in the store already…" She handed Sheldon a small bag. "We picked this up for you to say sorry for butting in yesterday." Sheldon looked in the bag and then frowned at the item.

"You bought me a t-shirt?"

"Not just any shirt, go on pull it out." Bernadette giggled as she gestured for Howard to join her on the couch. He set the unit down on the rug before perching on the arm of the couch to look over Bernadette's shoulder. Sheldon slowly pulled the shirt out of the bag and laid it on his lap.

"I don't understand." He looked puzzled at why the couple felt the need to purchase him a plain white t-shirt.

"Turn it over, doofus!" Howard tapped the shirt and grinned over at his friend, barely able to contain his excitement. Sheldon carefully turned the shirt over and gasped at the image on the front.

"Oh…that's just…I love it!" He beamed at Bernadette and Howard before tucking it against his chest and rushing off down the hallway. "I'm gonna put it on now, it may just be my new favourite!"

"What on earth?" Penny looked over at where Bernadette and Howard were exchanging high fives and congratulating each other.

"Told you he'd go ga-ga over it." Howard said a little smugly and Bernadette jostled his shoulder and warned him not to get too cocky. Sheldon came back into the living room and opened his arms to proudly display the image on the front of the shirt. Howard had arranged for the shop to transfer Amy's scan image onto the front of the shirt with the words 'Who's the Daddy?' embroidered along the top and 'I am!' along the bottom.

"Isn't it great?" He showed it to Amy who giggled at the sight of his chest puffed out.

"I love it!"

"Good, 'cause Raj insisted on picking you one up as well." Howard gestured over to Stuart who grinned widely as he pulled open one of the drawer's to reveal another t-shirt for Amy. This one read 'Don't open – genius inside'.

"Ooh, I like that one too!" Sheldon cooed as Amy pulled on the t-shirt over the Avenger's shirt she was already wearing. It was a little on the large side as Raj insisted that they bought the maternity version of the shirt.

"And for Auntie Penny…" Stuart threw another shirt over to Penny who giggled at her version. Her shirt had flowers embroidered around the edge with 'No. 1 Fan' in bright pink script.

"Look, we match!" Bernadette grinned as she opened her coat to reveal the same shirt as Penny's only her writing was in blue.

"Come on Mary, don't be shy…Raj got one for you as well." Howard grabbed Mary's shirt from the top drawer and tossed it over.

"'World's best Grandma...' Aw, ain't that sweet?" Mary read the writing on her shirt and followed everyone's example and pulled off her cardigan to slip the slim fit shirt over her head. "How do I look?"

"Pretty as a picture, Mama." Sheldon said and glanced over at Howard and Stuart who had their jackets closed over their shirts. "How about you guys?"

"We're waiting for Leonard, Raj and George…oh we picked one out for Missy, Mike and little Mattie as well. Don't worry Sheldon, we got one for Meemaw too."

"Waiting for us for what?" Leonard caught the tail end of the conversation as he and George struggled in with the loaded grocery sacks. He grinned widely as everyone turned around to reveal their shirts. "Nice shirt, Sheldon."

"Thanks, Howard picked it out for me." Sheldon smoothed his hand over the sonogram image and smiled widely.

"Here, catch." Stuart threw two shirts over to George and Leonard, "Don't show them to anyone just yet, we're waiting for Raj to arrive with Missy, Mike and Meemaw. Raj took them their shirts when he left to pick them up." Leonard showed the shirt to George, who grinned as he read the embellishment.

"Nice." George nodded and slipped his shirt under his jacket, keeping it out of sight until the big reveal. "I'll just take these bags into the kitchen, those potatoes won't peel themselves."

"Let me give you a hand, George. I can't cook anything worth eating but I can prepare vegetables." Penny rose up from the rocking chair, leaving it empty for Mary.

"Come on Howard, let's get this unit put up. Which room do you want us to put it in Sheldon?" Stuart waved his arm over to Howard and they waited for Sheldon to decide.

"Put it in the corner of Leonard's old room for now, I don't think it will fit in mine anyway."

"I'll start taking the clothes in." Bernadette started scooping up handfuls of the small outfits, cooing softly over each item as she gathered them together. "You'll wash them all through before the baby gets here, won't you Sheldon?"

"Of course, some of them aren't as soft as I'd like." Sheldon agreed with a nod, jumping up to help Bernadette move the clothes into the bedroom. "Now, I was thinking top drawer for little vests and socks, bibs and onesies in the second with everything else in the last…what are your opinions on things I should be stocking up on? Anything new in the diaper cream market?" Mary smiled over at Amy as Sheldon's voice grew quieter as he and Bernadette disappeared into the back bedroom.

"Just like my Shelly, the baby isn't even here yet and he's thinking about stocking up the medicine cabinet." Mary said with a grin and Amy sheepishly pulled out a notepad from the telephone table and waved it at Mary.

"Um…I like to be organised as well." Mary took the paper and skimmed through it.

"Hmm…diaper cream, baby shampoo, baby thermometer, diapers, pacifiers…you might want to add gripe water and a couple of teething rings to the bottom. Both of my boys cut their first tooth at two months, so you may want to heed that if you plan on feeding naturally; it gets a mite uncomfortable when teeth get involved."

"Mmm…vests, socks, mittens, bottles, steriliser, breast pump." Amy took the list back and started scribbling on the bottom.

"Bibs, sick cloths, baby monitor…" Penny called out from the kitchen, thinking about everything that her cousin had given birth the previous year.

"Don't worry about the monitor, Amy; I've got a friend that can hook us up with the latest system on the market." Howard overheard Penny's comment and walked back into the living room to lean on the arm of the couch. "Don't forget about taking me with you when you look for a new car. Oh...baby seat, stroller, swing seat, high chair." Amy nodded as she continued adding items to the bottom of the list.

"Maybe I can get one of those systems where the car seat hooks into the stroller frame…" Amy mused as she tapped the pen against her bottom lip.

"I'll look it up!" Howard raced over to grab Leonard's laptop and carried it over to the couch to place on Leonard's lap. "Password." He nudged Leonard and soon the two men were huddled over the Babies R Us website and were billing and cooing over the various styles on offer. "Ooh this one's got little cars all over it!"

"I think we should stick to gender neutral, Howard…we're just looking remember? It's too soon to be buying anything like that. It will just gather dust and take up too much space." Leonard looked over at Amy, who nodded her approval.

"Just make a note of anything that looks promising and I'll go back to it nearer the time."

"What about callin' someone to try and get that elevator repaired?" Mary enquired from the rocking chair, and the guys looked over in surprise. "That baby is gonna need a lot of stuff whenever Amy goes out on her own, you can't expect her to cart it down four flights of stairs and then come back up for the child. Think about what she's gonna be like in just a few months…she'll look like she's swallowed a beach ball and don't get me started on how it will affect her back; I'm tellin' you boys, you need to get something sorted or I'll be taking her back to Galveston with me as soon as she starts complainin' about how her feet hurt."

"I'll get right on it!" Leonard muttered as he started composing an e-mail to the building superintendent. He wasn't prepared to miss out on anything to do with the baby just because of a slight accident with some rocket fuel.

"Good boy." Mary nodded in satisfaction as she continued rocking in the chair. "You know, I think I might pick up one of these chairs for myself…they're mighty comfortable."

"Yeah, Howie liked it so much he bought one for our place at the same time." Bernadette remarked as she and Sheldon appeared from the hallway.

"Hey, I need somewhere to rock the baby to sleep!" Howard protested, and then hunched his shoulders slightly. "Amy said I could be Uncle Howard and I fully expect to get monthly sleepovers as part of that agreement."

"Leonard, I want sleepovers too!" Penny called out from the kitchen and Leonard shrugged his shoulders.

"You're probably gonna be over here all of the time anyway, so I don't see why you should feel the need for an overnight as well." When Leonard saw Penny pouting over the counter he threw up his hands in surrender. "Okay! Sheldon, Penny would like overnight privileges as well, but you're still not getting a rocking chair, Penny!"

"Meanie…" Penny grumbled and George chuckled as he finished up the last of the potatoes, setting the pan over the heat.

"Trust me, honey…they're just eatin', sleepin', poopin' machines…I remember Mike and I looking after Mattie for the afternoon while Mama and Missy went into Dallas for a girly day out, man that baby could fill a diaper! I never saw a man turn green so quickly as Mike did when he undid that fastener…"

"I promised Amy I would do my bit to support her, and if that means changing a few smelly diapers then so be it." Penny fully intended to hold up her end of the bargain and George clapped her on the shoulder.

"Good luck to you then, a word of advice…stick a little VapoRub under your nostril and the sting will soon distract you from the smell."

"Thanks George, I'll be sure to remember that." Penny nodded as George walked over to sit at his mother's feet, leaving the armchair and wooden back chair for the others to use.

"Potatoes are on, Mama. You need me to do anything else?"

"No thanks, Georgie…I'll get up in a minute and make a start on the chicken." Mary tousled George's slightly overlong hair and he opened his mouth to complain when the apartment door opened to reveal Raj escorting Sheldon's grandmother into the apartment, followed by Missy, her husband and toddler, Mattie.

"Meemaw!" Sheldon exclaimed happily as he ran across the room to enfold the sprightly eighty year old in a careful hug.

"Moonpie! Anyone would think you hadn't seen me in months, let alone a few hours…Now, where's that sweet little gal of yours?" Meemaw patted Sheldon's arm and craned her neck over his shoulder to see Amy who waved from the couch.

"Hello, Meemaw; it's lovely to see you again."

"Amy darlin'…ooh let me take a look at you." Meemaw moved around Sheldon and pulled Amy gently to her feet, admiring her t-shirt and the way it clung to her abdomen. Meemaw's hand hovered over the slight swelling and she looked in Amy's eyes, seeking permission. When Amy nodded, Meemaw gently patted the bump and had tears in her eyes as she looked up.

"Thank you, darlin'…I never thought I'd see the day that my sweet Moonpie would become a Daddy, and now look at you." Meemaw smoothed Amy's t-shirt into position and smiled sweetly. "I got me one of those too…" She whispered in Amy's ear and moved back with a grin not dissimilar to her grandson's.

"Okay, now we're all here… shall we show our shirts?" Howard looked around the room and when the new arrivals nodded they whipped open their jackets. 'Team Cooper' was emblazoned above the sonogram image and Amy laughed as she saw Meemaw strutting around the living room as if she were on a catwalk. Even little Mattie was wearing a small size shirt, only his said 'World's best cousin'. He kept stroking it and murmuring 'baby' under his breath; Amy thought that the apple hadn't fallen far from the tree and that he may of inherited some of his uncle's brilliance.

"I'd better get on with the chicken." Mary said after everyone had finished drying their tears of laughter.

"Stay there, Mama…I'll take care of everything else." Sheldon pressed his mother back down into the chair and let his hand linger for a second before moving off into the kitchen.

"Let me give you a hand there, Moonpie. It'll be just like old times, you and me cooking up a storm." Meemaw followed Sheldon into the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves. "Chicken or dessert? What did you pick up for dessert, George?"

"Couple of punnets of peaches, Mama and I were thinking of cobbler." George called over from the living room. With that in mind Sheldon left his grandmother in charge of the cobbler and he occupied himself with dipping the chicken in flour and then tossing them in a pan of hot oil.

"Who's gonna mash these 'taters?" Meemaw called over the counter a short while later and Raj held up his hand; he left Howard and Leonard checking out strollers on the internet and wandered into the kitchen to wash his hands.

"Shelly, can I get Mattie changed in your room?" Missy picked Mattie up and cradled him on her hip as she called out to Sheldon over the counter.

"Sure, the gang bought a nice changing table…you can use that instead of leaning over the bed." Sheldon barely looked up from the hot pan as he gestured toward his bedroom.

"Sheldon, can I grab a pillow to sit on?" Howard called out from the couch, holding up a hand to prevent any questions. "Wait for it…"

"Certainly not…you know you aren't allowed in my room." Sheldon remarked with a frown.

"What if Amy needs a pillow for her back?" Howard called out again, and watched as Sheldon passed the tongs over to Raj and ran around the counter to kneel in front of Amy.

"Is your back hurting? George, run into my room and fetch a pillow from my bed; the ones on the left have more support so make sure you get one of those. George!" Sheldon snapped at his brother who just sat on the floor grinning at him.

"Sheldon, it's okay." Amy reassured him with a gentle touch to his arm. "Howard was just teasing you."

"Oh…" Sheldon sighed in relief, before turning to frown at Howard. "Not funny, Howard! Consider this your first baby strike, two more and you lose your overnight privileges."

"Great! He messes up and we both get punished!" Bernadette groused as she folded her arms across her chest and glared at her husband. Sheldon reached over to pat her leg.

"Don't worry, Bernadette…if he messes up too much then you can just stay here for the weekend while Amy and I take in a movie and a meal."

"Oh, Sheldon…that would be great…Howard, feel free to mess up again any time you like!" Bernadette squeaked out happily and pressed a kiss against Sheldon's cheek. "Told you, I would earn Best Auntie!" Sheldon grinned again before rising to his feet to get back to his chicken. Raj handed off the tongs and moved back to the potatoes.

"Penny, I think we're gonna need more plates. Could you run over to your place and grab a handful with some cutlery from your place?" Sheldon called out and Penny waved an acknowledgement as she rose up from where she was curled up against the couch talking with Missy's husband, Mike.

"You need a hand, Auntie Penny?"

"Sure, Auntie Bernie." Penny replied and the two women linked arms as they wandered across the hallway.

"You think that will get old anytime soon?" Howard murmured to Leonard and Leonard just pointed to the back of Howard's t-shirt.

"Don't think I haven't seen the little additional extra that you've got on the back of your shirt…Uncle Howard."

"So, I had a little extra put on…no big deal." Howard tried to shrug it off but Leonard wasn't prepared to let it drop.

"World's best Uncle? Howard, Mike and George should have got that on their shirts – they're the ones who will be the only proper uncle's from the lot of us."

"I'll take theirs back to the shop and get it added…" Howard offered albeit a little reluctantly, when Leonard coughed slightly, Howard amended his statement. "Okay, I'll get yours changed as well." When Raj and Stuart coughed as well Howard threw up his hands. "Alright, I'll get them all changed!"

"Thank you." Leonard accepted with a slight grin, and Howard flounced off into the bathroom, grumbling under his breath. Amy shifted over on the couch until she was pressed up against Leonard's side. He looked down at her suddenly serious expression and grew worried. "Is there something the matter? Are you feeling okay? Do you want some tea?"

"No, I'm fine; I just wanted to tell you something…"

"Okay…" Leonard waited for Amy to speak and was astounded when she grabbed his hand instead and pressed it against her stomach.

"I don't want you to ever say that you're not a proper uncle to this baby again…I don't have any siblings, cousins and have a mother that lives overseas whom I haven't spoken to in quite a few years. As far as I am concerned everyone in this room is family, and you **are **my baby's uncle in every way that matters." Leonard felt his eyes stinging with tears and he pushed his glasses further up on his nose and stroked his fingers gently over the bump.

"Thanks, Amy…I don't quite know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything…" Amy whispered and pressed a kiss to Leonard's cheek and found herself wrapped in Leonard's arms as he hugged her gently. "Uncle Leonard…" She murmured against his cheek and felt the dampness of tears on her skin. Leonard drew away and swiped a hand over his eyes, coughing a little to clear his throat.

"Okay, I'd better let you before Sheldon judo chops me in the shoulder again." Leonard gave Sheldon a watery grin and received a mock frown in return which quickly dissolved into a soft smile. Penny and Bernadette walked back in to see a lot of watery eyes and wondered what was going on.

"Hormones…" Mike offered as an explanation as he quickly rubbed his own reddening eyes dry. Bernadette looked around for Howard and raised her eyebrow in enquiry.

"Hiding in the bathroom…he managed to upset Leonard, George and Mike all at the same time. If Leonard was in charge of issuing the baby strikes, Howard would have been sent off in disgrace." Mary chimed in from the rocking chair, needles clicking together as she continued with the hat.

"God…what's he been up to this time?" Penny sighed as she carried the plates over to the counter, setting them next to the piles of cutlery.

"Oh, he had something added to his shirt that Leonard objected to, then Amy made Leonard cry and she let him stroke her tummy." Raj filled Penny in and she immediately ran over to offer Leonard comfort.

"Okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah…" Leonard confirmed as he pulled Penny onto his lap, Penny noticed that his hand was still wrapped in Amy's hold and he showed no sign of wanting to let go anytime soon.

"Everything okay with you Amy?" Penny turned her attention to Amy and noticed the faint redness in Amy's eyes as well as Leonard's. "Okay, what did I miss?"

"I'm gonna be an uncle, Penny." Leonard said softly, giving Amy's hand a little squeeze and smiling goofily.

"I know, sweetie…we talked about this yesterday, remember?"

"No, Penny…Amy said that I was gonna be a real uncle…just like Mike and George!"

"Oh…" Penny sighed softly and knew why Leonard was so pleased. Neither of his siblings showed any interest in having children and for Amy to consider him as part of her family probably just made his whole year.

"Silly Leonard thought that it was just a polite term of endearment…" Amy rubbed her cheek against Leonard's jacket and he beamed up at Penny.

"That means you're a real Auntie!"

"That's sweet, but what did Howard do that pissed the rest of you off so badly?" Penny smiled at Amy in appreciation, of course she was going to be a real Auntie; Amy was one of her best friends and Penny considered her closer than her own sister. What she really wanted to know was what Howard had done to rile them all up.

"He had the shop put 'World's Best Uncle' on the back of his shirt, but didn't get the same done for George and Mike." Mary fastened off her stitches and twirled the finished hat in her fingers before tossing it over to Leonard. He plucked it out of the air and ran his finger gently over the soft wool, smiling gently at the feel.

"Yeah, Leonard started griping at Howard; thinking George and me would take offence…Amy managed to make him blub when she said that she already considered the rest of you part of her 'real' family and therefore you would all be Aunties and Uncles in the proper sense. Howard backed down and is gonna get our shirts changed over to match his; me, George, Stu, Raj and Leonard." Mike leant back against the couch and gave Leonard a gentle fist bump. "Guess that makes us sort of brothers."

"Yeah." Leonard agreed and handed over the tiny hat to Amy, who placed it in her lap.

"I can't believe Howie would have stooped so low, I know he's excited about the baby; but that's too far even for him!" Bernadette growled softly in the back of her throat. "I didn't see what he ordered when we picked them up, otherwise I would have said something at the time and made him change them over."

"Bernie, drop it…everything's good now." Leonard smiled over at Bernadette just as Howard slinked back in the room. He'd taken off his shirt and was holding it balled up in his fist.

"Here, George – take it, I should never have had it put on only mine…please take it."

"No man, it's okay. Keep it, besides I'm at least two sizes larger than you. Yours would probably only just fit Mattie…" George waved the offer away and Howard grinned as he slipped the shirt back over his head and smoothed it back into place.

"Okay, enough with the drama…everyone come up and grab a plate." Meemaw called over the counter and rapped the serving spoon loudly. "Mike, go on back and grab your wife; she's probably sitting on Shelly's bed reading one of his comic-books…you know it's her guilty pleasure…Moonpie, don't make Amy come all the way over here to fetch her plate, you take it over to her like the gentleman you are…George, you do the same for your Mama…Come on then, eat up!" Meemaw finished bossing everyone gently and started setting out the food on the plates. Sheldon picked up two of the first plates and carried them over to the couch, he passed Amy one of the plates and then sat on the floor by her feet to eat his own meal. Bernadette squeezed onto the armchair next to Howard, Penny sat at the counter with Leonard, Stuart and Raj leaving the couch to Meemaw and Missy. George passed a plate over to Mary before sitting in the wooden chair, leaving Mike to sit next to Sheldon near the couch.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Sexy Shamy times ahead! If that's not your thing, then feel free to skip ahead...**

After dinner had finished and everything was tidied away, Mary decided to go back to the hotel and bunk in with Meemaw; leaving Sheldon and Amy alone at Los Robles for the first time since they discovered they would become parents. They waved everyone goodnight and closed the door behind them, setting the lock and chain in place to ensure their privacy. Moments later they were cuddled up in Sheldon's bed, both wearing just underpants with Amy lying on her back as Sheldon gently caressed her tummy.

"I can't stop touching it…do you mind?"

"Not at all, it's good that you want to touch it. Some men won't even go near their partners while they are pregnant and fail to bond with their baby as a result." Amy curved her hand over Sheldon's slim fingers and felt them still under her touch. He rolled to his side and leant over onto his elbow.

"How could they not want to touch? It's fascinating seeing the changes that pregnancy has made even at this early stage. You have this delightful curve to your tummy and I love the idea that I did this to you…" Sheldon trailed his hand over where his baby rested and smiled wistfully. "That's part of me in there and I can't wait to see it grow." His fingers drifted up her ribs and flitted lightly over her breasts. "And then there's these…mmm lovely…" Sheldon's head bent down to rub his cheeks in between her slightly enlarged breasts and he felt her nipples swell under his caress. He flicked his tongue lightly over one of the swollen buds and sucked it into his mouth, rolling it over his tongue and suckling lightly.

"Ohh…" Amy threw her head back against the pillow and her legs parted, allowing Sheldon to roll over and settle in between them. Her thigh hitched around his waist and he gently rocked his hips up against her damp warmth.

"Have you thought about whether you are going to feed the baby naturally?" Sheldon asked casually as he released her engorged nipple and started up a gentle massage of her heavy breasts instead.

"Ah… I hadn't really thought about it. What makes you ask?" Amy glanced down at where Sheldon seemed fascinated with testing the heavy globes in his hands and flicking at her nipples with his fingers.

"Um…no reason really."

"No, come on I'd really like to know."

"You might think it weird…I was wondering how it would taste." Sheldon peered up at Amy through his lashes, a hint of a blush darkening his cheeks. His hands were never still, shaping and moulding her breasts as if he had never seen them before.

"Oh…" Amy really didn't know what to say to that, her breasts had always been very sensitive and her nipples extremely so, Sheldon had discovered this purely by chance when his experimental suckling had caused Amy to orgasm almost immediately and ever since then he had become rather fond of her best feature.

"You're disgusted with me aren't you?" Sheldon couldn't meet her gaze after his surprising confession and Amy lightly stroked his hair back from his forehead in order to see his eyes.

"I could never be disgusted with you, Sheldon; I'm a little surprised perhaps but certainly not disgusted. I suppose it's just natural curiosity… you do appear to be strangely fascinated by my mammary glands after all." Amy winked down at him and Sheldon flushed again.

"Not just those, I happen to be rather fond of your buttocks as well; it is aesthetically pleasing with curves that fit into my palm perfectly." Sheldon relaxed a little at her teasing and rested his head against the soft curves of her chest once again. "You never answered my question though, would you feed our baby naturally?"

"I think so, yes; if I were able to that is. As a biologist I know that a mother's nutrition provides a baby with natural immunities and the best possible start in life. I'm not sure if I would continue once the baby starts teething, I would imagine that would become rather painful; but I understand some women continue until their child is three or four years old." Amy ran her hand through Sheldon's hair again, sifting the short strands through her fingers and he hummed under his breath as her nails lightly scratched along his scalp.

"Good." He murmured sleepily, nuzzling his face against her softness and inhaling her sweet fragrance. "Are you warm enough?"

"Mmm…" Amy replied, "You're toasty, like a living comforter draped all over me."

"Too heavy?" _Please say no, cause I just want to stay like this all night, you feel good under me, woman. _

"Not at all…your underpants are a little scratchy though, are they new?"

"Uh-huh, target special…hang on a sec." Sheldon wriggled a little as he pulled away from Amy's warm body, he held up his scratchy new briefs with one finger and then flung them over his shoulder, leaving him completely naked in bed. Nestling back into his original position, Sheldon peered up from his eyelashes. "Better now?"

"Much." Amy nodded and Sheldon smiled wickedly, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"I think you're a little overdressed." Sheldon said simply and Amy frowned a little.

"I've never slept completely naked before…"

"I'll keep you warm." Sheldon promised and Amy's cheeks flushed a little before she nodded shyly. Her hands slipped down to the elastic waistband of her silky panties only to encounter Sheldon's fingers as they hooked under the elastic. "Let me, darlin'." Sheldon crooned huskily as he nudged her hands out of the way and drew her panties slowly down her legs and over her ankles. Once they were gone, he ran his hands lightly back up to her hips; his thumbs gently slipping around to caress the inside of her thighs as he nudged them slightly apart so that he could nestle comfortably between them again. "Mmm, my new favourite sleeping spot." Sheldon murmured as he shifted Amy slightly on her side and hooked one of her legs over his hip, allowing him to rest his groin directly against her womanly curls. "Sshh, go to sleep darlin'" Sheldon directed Amy's head to rest against his pillow as he settled down against the soft cushion of her breasts, Amy slipped one hand around his waist as Sheldon's hand rested lightly on her tummy. He pressed a kiss lightly to her breasts in turn and soon they were sleeping peacefully.

Amy twitched lightly in her sleep as something roused her from REM sleep, when it happened again, she moaned loudly and heard a chuckle coming from the body draped over her.

"Morning, darlin'…I wondered how long I would have to keep that up before you woke up properly." The husky tones of Sheldon's gruff morning voice sent ripples of desire streaming through Amy's body and Sheldon felt the sudden dampness against his hair roughened thigh where it pressed firmly against her. He smiled against her chest and resumed his earlier activities, flicking and licking at her nipples with a light flick of his tongue.

"Sheldon….please…" Amy moaned again, her legs twitching restlessly on the mattress and Sheldon hissed as he felt her scorching heat brush against his swollen body.

"Please what? This…?" Sheldon nibbled at her breast, lightly suckling and then releasing. "Or this?" His hand disappeared between the covers and his clever fingers delved into her drenched curls, parting her delicate folds to seek out the ache between her legs. "So warm, oh baby…you're positively drenched for me…" It was Sheldon's turn to groan as his lean fingers slipped easily into her warmth and was welcomed with a rush of liquid heat. "That was almost too easy…you can do better than that." He crooked his index finger and drew it out slowly, hearing Amy's long drawn out moan as he brushed against her G-spot with the edge of his knuckle, pushing in again firmly he edged up against it slightly harder and felt Amy's internal walls clamp down around his finger, holding it in place. "That's my girl." He praised with a smug smile, flicking the tip of his finger deep inside Amy and thanking his Daddy for passing on his height and lanky frame.

"Sheldon…I need you…" Amy whispered against his shoulder, biting down lightly with her teeth as Sheldon's finger started moving forward and back, but it still wasn't enough. "Please…"

"Oh, darlin'…you don't ever have to beg me for that…It will be entirely my pleasure." Sheldon withdrew his questing fingers and licked them slowly, keeping his eyes locked on Amy's the whole time. "Mmm….delicious, now hold onto that mattress, darlin' cause I'm heading for home plate…" Sheldon murmured hoarsely as he rocked his hips forward and in one sleek motion, slid deep inside. "Oh yeah…that feels like home alright." Amy's hands fell down to rest on Sheldon's buttocks, feeling his muscles flex and clench as he moved. "You okay? No sickness or anything?"

"Uh-huh…just keep doing that…Oh, there…Sheldon!" Amy shook her head on the pillow as Sheldon continued to thrust gently, she grasped his buttocks firmly as he quickened his pace. "So good…" Sheldon groaned as his heated length dove deeper and harder, Amy moving with him in perfect unison.

"Close…just a little more…come on baby…" Sheldon panted harshly as he gripped onto Amy's thigh, shifting her leg slightly higher on his hip and changing the angle of his thrusts.

"Nearly there…harder, Sheldon…" Amy begged, almost in reach of fulfilment. Sheldon withdrew almost completely before slamming back in, their damp skin sliding against each other, slick with perspiration. He slid his hand down in between their bodies and started rubbing circles against her clit, knowing instinctively it was what Amy needed in order to climax.

"Come on…just let go, baby…that's it…YES!" Sheldon rubbed harder and faster and felt Amy's internal walls clamp down hard around him as she convulsed beneath him; he followed behind a few seconds later jettisoning his seed deep inside with hot spurts of liquid before slumping down in exhaustion. "God…if you weren't already pregnant, I think that might have done the trick."

"Yeah…still feel it." Amy murmured, feeling Sheldon still jerking slightly inside her and the ripples of aftershock still spreading through her body.

"Mmm…" Sheldon murmured, he could feel Amy's walls caressing his spent body and wondered whether he could pleasure her further. He rocked his hips experimentally and heard Amy gasp in wonder. He kept his hips thrusting gently as he bent his head to suckle lightly at her breast, drawing her nipple deep inside his mouth and rolling at against his teeth. "You might have to do a little of the work this time, baby…" He murmured softly as he released her nipple and rolled over to his back, bringing Amy down over him. She sat up in his lap and shifted her hips slightly, resting her hands on his shoulders until she moved him exactly where she needed him. Amy rose up a few inches and then eased herself back down, throwing her head back and groaning as she felt Sheldon nudging against her sensitive nerve endings. Amy rocked forward until she pressed him directly against her clit and then stilled for a moment, before frantically rubbing herself forward and back. Her movements threw her breasts forward as her back arched and Sheldon reached up, unable to stop himself from massaging them firmly.

"Oh God!" Amy screamed as she lifted herself off Sheldon and then slammed back down, once, twice and then for a third time before she climaxed so hard that she saw stars. Sheldon flipped them over again and took back control; he hadn't thought it possible but Amy's climax had set off a chain reaction and he was harder now that he'd ever felt in his life. He pounded relentlessly into her over and over again, sucking at her breasts and leaving small love bites on her delicate skin.

"I can't…it's too good…FUCK!" Sheldon threw back his head and roared as he spilt his seed for the second time that morning, his fingers gripping Amy's thighs so tightly that he left light bruises in the shape of his fingertips.

"So, I take it that was good for you?" Amy murmured tiredly as she brushed Sheldon's sweat soaked hair away from his brow; he raised his head and blinked up at her through heavy eyelids, barely able to keep awake. "Baby, you said 'fuck' as you came."

"More like screamed it…" Sheldon flushed at the thought of the coarse words erupting from his throat.

"Baby…it was so hot, you blew me away completely."

"Good." Sheldon brushed a kiss over Amy's soft lips and went to ease himself out of her only for Amy to wrap her legs around his hips holding him in place.

"No…stay, I want to fall asleep just like this." Amy locked her ankles together behind his back and nudged him a little closer.

"I'll probably fall out anyway…you've completely wiped me out, woman." Sheldon nuzzled against the soft curve of Amy's neck, placing a line of soft kisses along her collarbone and sucking lightly.

"Don't care…just want to be as close to you as I can." Amy turned her head into Sheldon's neck and returned his soft kisses, and he shivered lightly as her warm breath caressed the side of his neck.

"Mmm…love that, do it again." Amy grinned at his softly spoken request and blew on the side of his neck again. Sheldon groaned as his exhausted body began to twitch lightly in reaction and his arms tightened around her waist. "You'll be the death of me, you green eyed vixen."

"We can't have that, we need you around for a very long time." Amy nestled her head against the curve of his neck and settled down for a nap. Her hands curved underneath her pillow and her legs relaxing their hold on Sheldon a little to slip naturally along his calves. He twitched again in her change of position but was too tired to do anything about it.

"Try that again when I've had a little rest." He murmured, resting his head on the top of Amy's crown and nuzzling into the soft pillow.

"Try what, baby? Sheldon?" Amy glanced up only to find Sheldon snoring lightly above her. She pulled his arm further around her waist, and even in his sleep Sheldon's hand curved around to twine his fingers with hers and like that Amy fell back to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

When they finally emerged from the bedroom much later in the day, Sheldon tried to persuade Amy to join him in the shower, pouting a little when she refused.

"Sheldon, it could be dangerous for the baby – we can get a little over enthusiastic and you don't have a grab rail or anything." Sheldon immediately saw her point and resolved to have one installed as a matter of urgency.

"You may need help getting in and out of the bath when you progress further in the pregnancy, I may not always be around to help you."

"Go on, Sheldon; take your shower and get cleaned off. I'll make a start on breakfast."

"No, you go first; maybe you could try on a few of those cute little maternity outfits that Raj brought over yesterday?"

"Don't want me stealing anymore of your clothes, huh?" Amy grinned as she brushed past Sheldon, and then let out a squeak as he palmed her buttocks, giving a gentle squeeze.

"Unless you want be ripping them off you, no. You look far too gorgeous wearing my shirts and I just can't keep my hands off you – they cling in all the right places and it makes me want to throw you over my shoulder and have my way with you." Sheldon growled against her mouth as he pressed a firm kiss to her lips, before he shoved her lightly toward the bathroom; giving her a playful swat on her behind. "Go on, get your shower before I try to change your mind again."

"Yes, Doctor Cooper." Amy saluted him with her fingers and skipped quickly down the hall as Sheldon growled again. He adjusted himself in his pyjama pants as he watched her buttocks sway temptingly to and fro and then turned back to the kitchen.

"Vixen!" He murmured under his breath as he tried to control his urges to follow her into the bathroom and make good on his promise. Amy peered around the corner and grinned at the sight of Sheldon looking so uncomfortable.

"I am a Goddess and that man worships at my feet… Yay for me!" She giggled to herself as she sauntered down to the bathroom and stepped beneath the warm spray. "I'm a woman…W.O.M.A.N!" She sang as she soaped herself thoroughly and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair.

"Damned straight you are…" Sheldon's amused tone from beyond the curtain had Amy peering out through the crack.

"Sheldon!"

"I brought you in a clean towel." Sheldon sat on the closed lid of the toilet and held the towel in his hand. "You might need help getting out of the shower, and I wouldn't want you to slip."

"Uh-huh." Amy replied in a disbelieving tone, and Sheldon sat up straighter on the toilet seat in eager anticipation as the shower curtain whizzed back.

"Oh yeah…you definitely need help getting out." He stood up and walked slowly over to the edge of the bath, deliberately taking his time so that he could admire Amy's glistening, wet body. He held out his hand, and Amy clasped it firmly as she raised one slim leg over the edge of the tub and Sheldon gulped as his eyes lingered on the soft patch of curls hiding her femininity.

"Sheldon? Towel?" Amy's quietly amused tone had Sheldon blinking hard and tearing his gaze away from that tempting patch of hair and looking into her sparkling eyes.

"Oh, sorry." He held out the towel and Amy stepped into it, Sheldon rubbed the towel gently over her back and arms; slowing his actions down when he moved it around to her front; gliding it over her soft breasts and gentle rounding of her stomach. "Sit on the toilet seat and raise your leg up here." Sheldon knelt down onto the floor and patted his thigh. Amy perched on the toilet seat and propped her foot on Sheldon's thigh. He ran the towel over her foot, carefully drying in between each toe before sliding it up the length of her leg; brushing his knuckles against the inside of her thigh as he patted her dry. He switched over to her other leg and repeated his steps, starting at her feet and then moving slowly up her legs.

"There you go, all dried off. I'm gonna take a quick shower and then I'll help you get dressed." Sheldon wrapped the towel around Amy tucking the edges closed between her breasts.

"I think I can get dressed without any help, Sheldon."

"No, stay there – I won't be more than five minutes." Sheldon hopped behind the curtain and squirted a blob of shampoo in his hand and rubbing it into his hair before ducking under the spray to rinse it out. He repeated with the conditioner and then squirted some body wash onto a sponge and ran it over his body, stepping under the spray to rinse off. "All done, towel please?" He held out a hand from behind the curtain and Amy placed the soft towel in his hand. "Darlin'…I'm gonna need something a little bigger than the hand towel."

"Aw…" Amy whined from the other side of the curtain and Sheldon passed the too small towel back and crooked his fingers over waiting for the bath towel.  
>"Thank you." Sheldon rubbed himself down briskly and then knotted the towel loosely on his hip before opening the curtain and stepping over the rim of the tub.<p>

"Baby, there will come a time when I want you so badly that you're gonna be red raw before I'm satisfied." Amy whistled between her teeth, her admiring gaze lingering on the slightly tousled look of Sheldon's wet hair.

"Really?" Sheldon leant forward to brush a soft kiss against her pursed lips and then drew back slightly, a look of confusion etched on his face.

"Really…you need to read those pregnancy leaflets that I brought back from the hospital. Apparently some women experience a rush of hormones mid-pregnancy and it makes them very needy indeed." Amy reached up to run a hand over Sheldon's smooth cheeks and felt him smile beneath her touch, a wicked gleam glinted behind his blue eyes.

"Lookin' forward to it, darlin'…Come on, let's get your hair dried off before you catch cold." Sheldon's drawl was pronounced whenever he was aroused or tired, and Amy wasn't quite sure what the cause was, she only knew that she loved hearing it and it was something she would never grow tired of. Sheldon left Amy drying her hair as he went in search of clean clothes; he knew that most of his things were in boxes in the spare room and resolved to move them back into his dresser as soon as he made room for Amy's clothes alongside his. Pulling a clean thermal undershirt over his head and slipping a blue Superman shirt over the top, Sheldon sat on the edge of his bed to pull on a clean pair of socks.

"Looking good there, Doc." Amy winked from the doorway and Sheldon looked up from where he had one leg hitched over his thigh, displaying his more than average manhood bulging against the seam of his briefs.

"Pshaw." Sheldon flushed as he waved her comment away and set his leg down on the floor as he raised his other foot to pull on the second sock.

"Babe…believe me, you have **nothing** to be embarrassed about…I'm a biologist remember?" Amy crossed over to where her new maternity clothes were sitting atop the dresser, she selected a pair of panties and dropped the towel to slide them over her ankles and settled them in place on her hips. She hovered over the selection of maternity bras, finally selecting one in a nude shade fastening it around her back and then sliding the straps over her shoulders, before adjusting herself in the cups.

"Do that again…" Sheldon said suddenly, and Amy glanced up to see him watching her from the bed.

"Do what again?"

"That thing with your bra…"

"Huh?" Amy looked down, she put her bra on in exactly the same way as she had done since she was twelve years old and couldn't see the fascination.

"Never mind, let me." Sheldon stood up and with one expert motion had unclasped the fastening and slipped it free from her body. He slid the straps slowly back up her shoulders and ran his fingers down the side seams, before crossing around to the back to do up the fastening. His fingers drifted slowly around to the front cups, lifting each breast with a delicate touch and adjusting them with soft caresses as they settled in the cups. "What's this for?" Sheldon traced around the second fastening at the front of the bra that rested in between the cups.

"It's to make things easier for when you breast feed; you squeeze the sides together and the cups fall open." Sheldon followed Amy's instructions and with one smooth motion, successfully unclasped the front opening.

"Hmm, handy to know." He murmured as he refastened the clasp and ran his hands under her breasts again, making sure there were no wrinkles in the fabric of the cups. "What blouse are you going to wear today?"

"Um…one of the jersey dresses with leggings underneath; they'll be comfortable later on and I need to start getting used to the feel of them."

"They're a little on the thin side, I'm worried that you might get chilly." Sheldon rubbed the fabric between his fingers, a slight frown on his face.

"I'll put on a cardigan." Amy suggested and Sheldon slipped the jersey dress over her head, smoothing it in place with a brush of his hands.

"Black or grey leggings?"

"Black, please." Sheldon plucked the leggings out of the pile and knelt at Amy's feet. He slipped them over her ankles and pulled them up to her hips, quirking his brow at her change in appearance.

"Nice, it makes you look very young and appealing. Don't forget your cardigan. If you get too chilly you will just have to snuggle up against me and I will keep you warm."

"My hero." Amy sighed leaning her head against his lean chest and feeling him run a hand through her silky hair.

"I've got to keep both my babies warm, haven't I?"

"Mmm…forget the cardigan, I'll just stay like this all day." Amy rubbed her cheek over the soft cotton of Sheldon's shirt, inhaling the blend of talcum powder and citrus body wash that was uniquely Sheldon.

"Come on, let's get two of you fed. I've got some catch up reading to do." Sheldon caught Amy's hand in his own and led her out of their room and into the kitchen. He set her down at the counter and prepared her a few slices of toast drenched in honey, remembering that was what his mother had given her the previous morning. He prepared a bowl of raisin bran for himself and pulled out the stool next to her and settled down to eat.

They'd just finished eating when there was a knock on the front door, Sheldon opened it to see his Mary, Missy and Meemaw standing on the other side.

"Morning, Shelly. We just popped in to see how Amy's doing this morning, before we head back home this afternoon." Mary kissed his cheek and murmured in his ear. "You're looking a whole lot better today, Shelly – that's the love of a good woman for you, don't do anything to mess it up this time."

"I won't Mama." Sheldon murmured back, pulling her into a hug and then turning to do the same for Meemaw as Mary walked over to greet Amy.

"Feelin' better today, hon?"

"Miles better, thank you, Mary. No sign of morning sickness and I managed to finish all of my toast." Amy grinned over at Mary, who smiled as she ran her finger down Amy's smooth cheek.

"That's good, hon. We're heading back home today, Shelly's here to take care of you now, and I don't think you need any interference from me. You just remember that I'm always at the end of the phone if you want to chat any time and I'll be here in a flash if you want me."

"Can you…would you…Mary, can you please be here for the birth?" Amy tried a couple of times to get the words out and when she finally managed they spilled out to run together. Mary pulled Amy into her arms and ran her hand over her hair.

"Of course, I will darlin'…You let me know the due date as soon as it's confirmed and I'll come up a few weeks before to help you get ready."

"Thank you, you don't know how much that would mean to me…" Amy whispered against Mary's shoulder and felt Sheldon appear at her side.

"Darlin'…what's wrong?" He looked over at his mother and noticed the tears in her eyes. "Mama?"

"It's nothing, Shelly…just two woman crying over nothing."

"Mary's going to come back when the baby's nearly here to help me get ready for the birth." Amy pulled back from Mary and snuggled against Sheldon's side, Mary was pleased to see that he immediately wrapped his arm around her waist to draw her closer.

"And that made you cry?"

"Sheldon, it's what a mother would do…and I know that my mother wouldn't come even if I asked he to…is it okay with you if Mary stays?"

"Of course it is, darlin'." Sheldon nuzzled his cheek over Amy's hair and mouthed a thank you to his mother over Amy's head. She smiled through her tears and ran a finger down the side of Amy's arm.

"Honey…I would be very proud to stand in for your mother when you give birth, knowing my Shelly – he's not going to want to be anywhere near that hospital room and you're going to need someone at your side."

"Mama! Of course I'm going to be there! Honestly, you squirm a little at the thought of seeing your sister give birth and people label you as a coward…That's my baby in here and of course I want to be there to meet it in person…where else would I want to be?" Sheldon's hand slipped down to curve over Amy's stomach and he patted it gently. "Don't you listen to your grandma…she's just funning with you, of course Daddy's gonna be there waiting for you to arrive."

"Shelly…" Missy overheard his conversation with his unborn child and was taken aback at how his whole tone softened whenever he spoke to Amy or his baby.

"Don't start Missy." Sheldon warned lightly, keeping his arm wrapped securely around Amy. "Just because I didn't want to be in the room when you jettisoned Mattie out of your lady parts, doesn't mean I don't want to be there for my own child – it's completely different."

"I know it is, Shelly and I'm sorry we made you be there." Missy reached out to tousle Sheldon's hair and he jerked back out of reach, frowning at her.

"I didn't mind being there, I would have just rather not been in the room at that particular time; there are just something's that a brother should never have to see…and that was one of them."

"Understood; Mama make a note, if Mike ever gets in trouble again don't put Sheldon down as a labour coach." Missy grinned, and Sheldon gave a breathy little chuckle as he stepped away from Amy to pull his twin into a warm hug. "Mmm, missed you Shelly."

"Missed you too, sis. Come back soon."

"I will. Love you."

"Me too."

"Come on, let an old lady in on the action." Meemaw nudged Missy out of the way and held out her arms. "Come on, moonpie…give me some sugar." Sheldon wrapped his arms around the tiny frame and lifted her clear off her feet, twirling her around before setting her back down. "Whoa…moonpie, let me see that sweet little gal of yours." Meemaw peered around Sheldon's lean frame and reached over to pat Amy's hand. "You give me a call sometime and let me hear how Shelly's treating you."

"Meemaw…" Sheldon protested, and Amy soothed him with a tender kiss and gentle smile.

"She's kidding, Sheldon."

"Yup, Amy's got him sorted all right." Meemaw announced and crooked her elbow for Missy to take. "Come on, Mary let's leave the two of them alone and head on home."

"Okay, Mama." Mary blew Amy and Sheldon a kiss and as suddenly as they arrived, the three women were gone. Sheldon blinked down at Amy and shook his head. "I guess that's Cooper women for you…blow in like a hurricane and then they're gone."

"I think they're great…I can't wait to see them again." Amy wrapped her arms around Sheldon's waist and stood on tiptoe to press a kiss against his cheek. "What are we going to do today?"

"Well, you've got a few weeks off work and I'm not officially back from my sabbatical…why don't we just sit quietly on the couch and read some of the literature that you were given in the hospital?" Sheldon leant back against her hands so that he could look into Amy's face and saw her eyes light up with enthusiasm. He tugged her gently over to the couch and settled her in his spot, taking the other end of the couch and pulling her legs onto his lap. They each took a handful of the leaflets and started to eagerly read…

"Mmm…it says here that the missionary position may prove uncomfortable after the sixth month; they recommend lying on your side instead." Sheldon looked up from the pamphlet he was reading and glanced over at Amy. She peered over the top of her glasses at his expression, there was a familiar gleam in his eyes and she held up a hand.

"Steady, Romeo…you've had your fun this morning, Mama needs to regain her strength."

"Tonight?" Sheldon waggled his eyebrows and Amy nearly rolled off the edge of the couch at his over eager expression.

"Whoa, Ames…you nearly popped that baby out a few months early. What's so funny?" Leonard and Penny walked into the apartment just as Amy managed to stop herself from toppling off the edge of the couch and she started laughing again as Sheldon tried to hide the pamphlet he was ready under the cushion he was sitting on.

"Sheldon….!" Amy pointed at Sheldon's scarlet face and wrapped her arms around her middle where she ached from laughing so hard.

"Stop it…" Sheldon scooped all of the reading material together and placed them on the coffee table, he scooted over on the couch and pulled Amy onto his lap, rubbing her tummy soothingly. "Calm down, darlin'…ssh…" Amy buried her head against the side of his neck as she gradually stopped laughing and sighed instead.

"So, are you gonna tell me what was so funny?" Penny sat in the middle cushion and nudged Amy's leg.

"Uh-huh…some things need to stay private. Let's just say, Sheldon was taking a particular interest in one of the pamphlets and it struck me as funny." Amy sat up straighter on Sheldon's lap and swung her legs around to get up, batting Sheldon's hand away as he tried to keep her in place. "Stop it, Sheldon…I need to pee."

"Get used to it, sweetie. Pregnant women have a bladder the size of a pea…check it out in one of your pamphlets if you don't believe me." Penny's droll remark to Sheldon sent Amy into peals of laughter again, and she started hopping in place as she felt her bladder threatening to explode. "Shut it Ames and go to the bathroom before you pee all over the floor." Amy scurried into the bathroom and Penny smiled as she glanced over to see Sheldon tracking her every move. He felt Penny's eyes on him and glanced over.

"What?"

"Nothing, sweetie. It's just nice to see the two of you so happy together." Penny patted Sheldon's arm and he gave her a glimmer of a smile.

"Things are going very well, thank you." Sheldon looked up as there was a brief knock at the door and then Bernadette peered her head around the frame.

"Hi, am I interrupting anything? Is your family still here?"

"No, they left earlier this morning. Mama moved over to the hotel with Meemaw and George last night, so Amy and I had a quiet night at home." Sheldon waved Bernadette inside and she glanced around for Amy.

"Bathroom." Penny explained and Bernadette nodded, taking a seat in the rocking chair and setting it in motion with her foot.

"Bernie? What brings you over on a Monday? Where's Howard?"

"I dropped him off at work, I didn't cancel my week off – I wondered whether you and Sheldon wanted to come shopping with me. I know that you don't particularly want to buy anything else that's bulky but my brother told me about a baby warehouse nearby where everything is discounted. I thought it wouldn't hurt to drive over and take a look, it will give you some idea of what's out there for when you're ready."

"Hmm…Sheldon, what do you think? Would you like to come window shopping?" Amy crossed over to the couch, and Sheldon immediately pulled her onto his lap, threading their fingers together and resting them on Amy's knee.

"I would if you aren't too tired. Penny, what are you and Leonard up to? Are you heading into work at all today?" Sheldon glanced across at Penny who was almost bouncing in her seat with excitement.

"Can we come with you? We both booked a couple of days off and, like Bernadette didn't cancel them." Penny reached over to squeeze Amy's hand, both of them remembering the promises made in the hospital that night.

"I'd love it if you could, bestie. How about it Uncle Leonard? Are you ready for some serious baby shopping?" Amy leant around Penny to ask Leonard, who, was already flipping through his wallet checking he had his credit card. Sheldon followed her gaze and leant across to snatch the wallet out of Leonard's hand and tossed it behind the couch.

"We're just window shopping Leonard, and besides if we do see something that we just have to buy, I'll be the one doing the purchasing today."

"But Sheeeldoon…!" Leonard protested, "I didn't get to buy anything either, what if I see something that I just have to buy?"

"In a baby warehouse, Leonard?"

"Yes."

"Hey! Settle down." Bernadette gave a shrill whistle and everyone jumped slightly, "Everyone that's coming along needs to move their tushies into gear. Grab your wallets and keys and let's hustle people!"

"Whose car are we taking?" Leonard asked as they walked down the stairwell. "Mine's got the larger trunk space, but Bernie's rear seats fold flat."  
>"Window shopping, Leonard." Amy reminded him softly and Sheldon snorted lightly.<p>

"We'd better take two cars, I've never yet seen a woman go window shopping without bringing something back with her." This time Bernie snorted, and shook her head.

"You obviously have never been shopping with Amy, that woman is the definition of window shopping. Amy, did you ever tell Sheldon about the time we spent all day at the Galleria looking to update your wardrobe? No…tell him what you brought back…nothing, nada, zip, zero. This woman spend six hours trying on heaps of new clothes and didn't end up buying one item."

"I bought a pair of shoes." Amy interjected, and Sheldon squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, exactly the same style as the ones you already had." Penny said, grinning over at Bernadette.

"Right that's it, today we're going to that warehouse and we're not leaving until we pick out at least one item to bring home with us…agreed?" Leonard looked over at Sheldon, who was looking down at Amy and nodding.

"Agreed."

"Let's do this!" Bernadette thrust open the lobby doors and led the small parade over to the cars. "Penny, you wanna ride with me?" Bernadette glanced over the roof of her car and Penny shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

"I'll take Sheldon and Amy and we'll meet you there…no purchasing until we've all met up." Leonard glanced over at Bernadette over the top of his glasses and she agreed, albeit a little reluctantly.


	14. Chapter 14

Three exhausting hours later, Sheldon helped a weary Amy on the couch and raised her legs over his lap as they both slumped against the back cushions.

"Well, that was an experience and a half." Leonard muttered as he and Penny wrestle a huge flat pack box into the apartment, "Who knew expectant mothers could be so aggressive; that redhead nearly took my head off when we grabbed the last of these off the shelf."

"It's must be the hormones." Amy said tiredly, closing her eyes as Sheldon rubbed her sore feet. "I can't say that I feel that kind of energy at the moment myself."

"Aw darlin'; perhaps it was too soon for you to be out and about like that." Sheldon murmured quietly as he stroked his hand up and down her leg in a gentle caress. "Maybe we should have gone on our own, or left it until you were feeling a little better."

"Sheldon, I'm fine; just a little tired and a bit nauseated; it will pass eventually." Amy smiled softly as Sheldon tucked her legs under her crotched blanket and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"You rest a while and I'll head down to the car to bring up the bags."

"There's no rush, Sheldon; it's not like they're going anywhere." Leonard patted Sheldon on the shoulder and headed for the kitchen. "Anyone for a soothing cup of tea?"

"Mmm, please." Bernadette nodded as she glanced around the already crowded living room. "I'd be interested to know where you're gonna put half the stuff you bought."

"Yeah, I can't believe how much stuff you persuaded Amy that you just 'had' to get today." Penny slumped into the armchair and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm completely pooped and I'm a champion shopper…it was like going shopping with the energiser bunny!"  
>"Yeah, I nearly swallowed my tongue when the cashier read out the total, but you just handed over your credit card without batting an eyelid!" Leonard filled the kettle with water and set it to boil. He held up a selection of teabags and placed them in the waiting mugs as everyone made their requests, Sheldon advising him of Amy's preference as she snoozed lightly against his shoulder.<p>

"Where are you going to put that swinging cradle thingy?" Penny asked, thinking that it was another type of crib that Sheldon had selected in the store. Bernadette grinned as she enlightened her friend on the purpose of the cradle.

"It goes in a doorway and is designed to help motivate baby's walking skills. You fasten it to the top of the door and put the baby's legs through the sling." Bernadette explained as she started putting together the complicated pushchair system that she had brought up from the car, swiftly slotting the infant seat into the top with the minimum of effort. "Hah! I knew I hadn't lost the knack."

"Where did my list go?" Sheldon patted his pocket for one of the numerous lists that he and Amy had been working on. He found it in his trouser pocket and grabbed a pen from the coffee table; ticking off the items that they had found in the warehouse. "That's the microwave steriliser, diapers and the rest of the bedding."

"I had the baby bath, pushchair and car seat." Bernadette called out and Sheldon ticked those items off the list as well.

"The diaper box, wipes and cloths are in my trunk." Leonard added as he carried in the tray of tea; setting it down on the coffee table before handing around the mugs.  
>"Ooh, don't forget the mobile." Penny said and Sheldon gave a happy sigh as he added that to the bottom of the list. Amy hadn't been planning on buying one in the store, thinking that it was something they could choose once they discovered the baby's sex, but when Sheldon found one that featured soft koalas and monkeys their minds were instantly made up.<p>

"Wasn't it lucky that they had the bedding to match?" Bernadette smiled in remembrance as she sipped at her tea. "It's such a lovely design, the white background with the soft beige colours of the animals and would suit either a boy or a girl; and it goes well with the other bedding that Raj picked out yesterday."

"Do I hear the slight sound of your biological clock ticking away there, Bernie?" Penny grinned over from the armchair, and Bernie blushed as she continued sipping her tea.

"Let's just say that I might not be hitting that snooze button in the near future; I want to see how well Howie gets on with Sheldon's baby before I make any final decisions."

"I think you'd make a great Mom." Amy murmured sleepily from within the shelter of Sheldon's arms. "You really think so?" Bernadette looked over at her friend, and Amy gave her a soft smile as she rubbed her slightly sore feeling tummy.

"Sure, you took care of me when I was in a bad way and you've got the experience down pat from looking after your brothers and sisters…I think Howard will give you all the support that you need should you decide to try for one."

"We'll see…" Bernadette shrugged slightly and everyone dropped the subject, turning their attention back to the baby that was already on the way.

"So, have you guys thought any more about what you're going to do?" Penny asked, and Sheldon turned to her with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean?"

"You know…are you going to stay here once the baby's born or move to a bigger place; maybe get a little house and settle down." Penny knew that she had said the wrong thing as soon as she saw the way that Amy's face paled at her words; "Oh God, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean….Amy!" Penny tried to backtrack but the damage had already been done, her hand reached out to Amy but brushed thin air as Amy burst into tears and ran down the hallway.

"Penny!" Bernadette chastised the blonde who looked completely miserable at the thought of causing her friend further pain.

"I know…it just slipped out, I didn't mean it!"

"Does someone want to fill me in on why Amy ran out like that?" Leonard looked at his fiancée, who was near to tears herself and then over at Sheldon whose lips were white with fury.

"That was completely uncalled for Penny, and you of all people should have known better than to bring up painful memories for both of us."

"I'm sorry, Sheldon. I'll go and apologise." Penny went to rise up from the chair, but a forceful hand on her shoulder bade her to stay.

"No, I'll take care of it." Sheldon stalked off down the hallway, his frame tight with anger; angry at Penny for bringing it up in conversation and angry at himself for ever making a mockery of Amy's dreams in the first place. Leonard waited until he heard the bedroom door softly close before he turned to the girls with raised eyebrows. Bernadette took pity on him and filled him in on the sorry situation.

"Penny's unfortunate choice of words reminded Amy of the last conversation she had with Sheldon before he went away. Amy told us all about it during one of our ladies nights and it took a whole box of Kleenex before she stopped crying."

"Go on, what was the conversation about?" Leonard leant forward in his seat and Penny wiped her eyes as she took over the story.

"Sheldon had gone over to Amy's the night that we asked whether he would consider swapping apartments. Amy said that he might like to try living alone for a while to see whether he liked it; and if he didn't, then she could always move in."

"Apparently Sheldon then made a very sarcastic comment about how she seemed to have planned their lives out already. Starting with living together, then getting engaged before buying a little house somewhere and raising a family. He was practically foaming at the mouth by the time he had finished ranting at her; ending the conversation with the statement that she was never moving in. So you can see why she got so upset; it just brought it all back to her." Bernadette finished the recollection and Leonard looked at Penny with disappointment in his eyes.

"You don't have to say anything, I hate myself at the moment." Penny leant her head in her hands and groaned. "I am such a bad friend!" She slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand and Leonard tugged it away.

"You're not a bad friend, Penny; you've just got to realise that there are some subjects that are bound to be a little touchy with Amy and Sheldon…and the future is one of them. We've just got to leave them alone to sort things out for themselves."

"Thank you, Leonard." Sheldon's quiet voice coming from the hallway had the three of them looking over in surprise.

"Sheldon…I…." Penny started to apologise again, and Sheldon held up his hand.

"I know you didn't mean it, Penny…there's no need to rehash the conversation again. I'm going to have to cancel pizza night tonight as Amy's feeling a little poorly at present; she was hoping that the morning sickness had run its course, but it appears to have returned with some vengeance; she's resting in our room at present."

"Okay, buddy…I'll go down and grab the rest of the bags from the car, and then we'll leave you in peace. Penny, give me a hand?" Leonard got up from the armchair and pulled Penny up alongside him. Bernadette got up from the stool and nodded in agreement.

"I'll come down with you; do you want us to leave the boxes in the hallway, Sheldon?"

"No need for that, you can bring them in here; I'd just rather you didn't disturb Amy's rest right now." Sheldon shook his head at the offer and gestured over to the space behind the couch. Leonard and Penny left first and Sheldon cocked his head at Bernadette just as she was about to follow. She hung back slightly, waiting for Sheldon to speak.

"Amy isn't asleep really, she just doesn't want to see Penny right now."

"Oh, honey…is she okay?"

"She's worn out from vomiting and cried herself to sleep. I'm worried that the stress of everything may harm the baby." Sheldon whispered quietly, a worried frown on his forehead.

"Is there anything I can do?" Bernadette asked, placing her hand on Sheldon's forearm.

"I was thinking of maybe asking you to call that doctor you met at the hospital."

"Michael?"

"Yeah, Michael. She was hugging her belly and I don't know whether it means she's in pain or if it was just for comfort. I'm going back to sit with her, do you think you could make the call without Penny overhearing you?"

"Sure, I'll do it right now and let you know what he says." Bernadette sat on the couch and searched in her purse for Michael's card as Sheldon walked slowly back down the hallway to sit with his weeping girlfriend. Bernadette heard his soft murmurs and Amy's garbled replies as her trembling fingers placed the call.

"Michael? It's Bernadette here…"

_"__Oh hi, it's funny that you should call; I was just thinking about calling you guys…"_

"Yes?"

_"__Actually it has to do with Amy, her last test results have come back from the lab and her levels have risen rather than falling as we had hoped."_

"Could that be why she's still being sick? It's one of the reasons that I called; she got a little over emotional earlier this afternoon and started vomiting profusely again…she's now cried herself to sleep and we're all a little worried about her."

_"__Say no more, I'm off shift this afternoon and I'm on my way over. Bernadette, I think Amy may be carrying a multiple pregnancy after all; it could explain her extreme emotional states and why the nausea has restarted."_

"Oh…how could we have missed it?"

_"__I'll explain when I get there."_

A few minutes later, Sheldon rose from the bed as he heard the light tapping on the bedroom door. He opened it up a few inches to see Bernadette's solemn face peering around the edge.

"How is she, Sheldon?"

"A little calmer now, I think; but I'm still worried."

"I called Michael and he's off duty today so he's on his way over. He said that it could be something to do with her elevated hormone levels making her feel extremes of emotions. Her test results came back this morning and they are still high; she might need to have another scan before her check-up."

"There's something wrong, what aren't you telling me, Bernadette?"

"Honey…Michael still thinks that Amy could be having more than one baby."

"But the scan…it only showed one." Sheldon started to panic breath and Bernadette rubbed a hand along his back to calm him down, keeping her voice low she explained what Michael had said.

"That's why he wants Amy to agree to have another one. The scan he did up on the maternity ward was only a portable unit and may not have shown the second baby if they were lying in an awkward position."

"When?" Sheldon was calm enough to start thinking rationally again, and glanced up at his petite friend.

"Possibly tomorrow. He'll know more once he's examined her tonight. I'm going to head downstairs and empty my car; I've sent a text to Leonard and he's going to take Penny out for a meal as soon as he's finished unloading. I'm going to stay over on your couch tonight, so that you're not on your own tonight, Howard's over his mother's anyway and if you need to go for another scan tomorrow I'll drive you both over there; Michael mentioned that it will most likely be a very early appointment before the regular clinics start."

"Bernadette…I don't know what to say…" Sheldon reached out blindly and pulled Bernadette into his arms for a brief hug. "Thank you." He whispered against her hair, and she patted his shoulder.

"I love you guys, so there's no need to thank me for anything." Bernadette pulled away and glanced over his shoulder to where Amy was curled up on the bed; her face drenched in tears. "Don't worry, Ames…Michael will be here soon and he's going to fix you right up."

"Promise?" Amy's broken voice from the bed had them both crossing over to kneel at her side, neither one had been aware that she had woken to hear their whispered conversation.  
>"Cross my heart." Bernadette vowed solemnly and clasped her friends hand tightly as Sheldon wiped away the tears from Amy's tired and washed out face.<p> 


End file.
